Featured Author Sarah Pekannen Goes from Writer to Reviewer for Washington Post

GBF featured author Sarah Pekannen ("Skipping a Beat" and "The Opposite of Me") reviewed "The Ninth Wife" by Washington resident Amy Stolls, calling it "a witty, satisfying novel with a clever structure."

Read the full review.

Sarah Pekkanen's "Skipping a Beat" Sangria

We like a good sangria as much as the next guy... so we're looking forward to trying out Sarah Pekkanen's "Skipping a Beat" Sangria featured in "Something to Read About: A Book Club Sampler from Simon & Schuster." (You'll find it on p. 120.)

GBF Featured Author Eleanor Brown Calls in the (Published Author) Troops

GBF featured author Eleanor Brown ("The Weird Sisters") put a call out to her network of published writers asking for one-sentence (and sometimes more!) writing advice. Included on the list of advice givers are a handful of other GBF featured authors including

• Rachel Machacek ("The Science of Single")
• Meg Waite Clayton ("The Four Ms. Bradwells" and "The Wednesday Sisters")
• Caroline Leavitt ("Pictures of You")
• Sarah Pekkanen ("Skipping a Beat" and "The Opposite of Me")

Read their advice, then come back here and let us know...

Are you a writer reading this? Then add your advice below in the comments. Aspiring writer? What's the best advice you've received?

Novels by Two Featured Authors Included in O Magazine's 18 Books to Watch for in April 2011

O Magazine included novels by two GBF featured authors in its 18 Books to Watch for April 2011 feature:

"The Civilized World: A Novel in Stories" by Susi Wyss. Read the mention, which calls Wyss' book "insightful."

"Skipping a Beat" by Sarah Pekkanen. Read the mention.

Sarah Pekkanen in EW

Sarah Pekkanen's new book, "Skipping a Beat," made it into this week's Entertainment Weekly. Check it out.

Did You Know that Featured Author Sarah Pekkanen Has a NOOKBook Short Story?

So in the process of searching for a link to one of GBF featured author Sarah Pekkanen's books ("Skipping a Beat" and "Opposite of Me"), we discovered a NOOKbook short story, "All Is Bright," that she wrote.

Published in December 2010, B&N describes it as "a charming story about coming home for the holidays—and finding gifts in the most unexpected of places.." Pretty cool. If you read it, weigh in with what you think.

Featured Author Sarah Pekkanen Gets Another Great Review

She's on a roll...

GBF featured author Sarah Pekkanen just received another great review for her new novel, "Skipping a Beat." The review in the Ventura County Star calls the book a "dramatic roller coaster ride of a story" and the reviewer applauds Pekkanen for delivering "a heart-wrenching and heartfelt tale that will leave an impact on the reader long after the last page is read." Read the entire review.

Featured Author Sarah Pekkanen on Children's Books and the Gender Divide

Ever wonder why it seems like more women than men -- and more girls than boys -- read? GBF featured author Sarah Pekkanen ("Skipping a Beat" and "Opposite of Me") penned an interesting piece for the Washington Post on Sunday about the gender divide and children's books. One potential key to getting more boys reading? Humor, says Pekkanen. Read more.

Washington Post, O Magazine Praise Sarah Pekkanen's "Skipping a Beat"

Sarah Pekkanen drew positive reviews from the Washington Post for her second novel, "Skipping a Beat." The Post called it an "intelligent and entertaining novel" that "offers a delightful slice of life inside the Beltway." Read the full review.

"Skipping a Beat" also was listed in the "10 Titles to Pick Up Now" column in O Magazine. Here's a link to the piece, which calls the novel "engaging."

GBF Authors Show Each Other Some Love

GBF Featured Author Meg Waite Clayton ("The Wednesday Sisters" and the soon-to-be-released "The Four Ms. Bradwells") has been hosting a number of GBF featured authors on her blog, 1st Books: Stories of How Writers Get Started.

Her latest GBF featured author guest is Sarah Pekkanen who just released her second novel, "Skipping a Beat." Pekkanen writes about her days as a reporter, balancing writing and raising kids, losing a manuscript to a house fire, and how her writing has changed over the years. Read Sarah's entry.

Meg has also featured Eleanor Brown ("The Weird Sisters") and Caroline Leavitt ("Pictures of You") on her blog.

More Good News for GBF Featured Author Sarah Pekkanen

Two-time GBF featured author Sarah Pekkanen is making news this week with the recent release of her latest book, "Skipping a Beat." (She spoke about her debut novel, "The Opposite of Me," at last year's festival.)

Her most recent press for "Skipping a Beat" includes:

• An on-air interview for KCRA in California that includes a discussion of interacting with her readers via social media.
• A review in People magazine that calls it "heartbreaking and familiar" and gives it 3 out of 4 starts

Come hear Sarah talk about her book on May 21 at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. And between now and then, you can follow her on Twitter at @sarahpekkanen.

A Sneak Peak at Sarah Pekkanen's Skipping a Beat

Thanks to twitter (@sarahpekkanen), we just found a sneak peak from Chapter One of Sarah Pekkanen's almost-published "Skipping a Beat." (Official release date: Feb 22)

Can't wait to read it ...

Win! Win! Win!

Okay. So I stole that heading from author Eleanor Brown's blog. Why?

Because she's doing a drawing on her blog and one lucky reader/entrant will win a signed copy of Eleanor's book, "The Weird Sisters," which recently received a rave review in the Washington Post, and a signed copy of "Skipping a Beat" by Sarah Pekkanen, which comes out next week.

Go enter. (You only have until 8 p.m. TODAY to do so!)

Oh, and have we mentioned that both FABULOUS authors will be at the Gaithersburg Book Festival on May 21?