Best Selling Books by Melanie Sumner

In her vividly drawn, bitingly satiric first novel, the Whiting Award-winning young author immerses readers in the wrenching poignancies and comic grotesqueries of one fractious, flamboyant family in contemporary Georgia.

"Devastating . . . [Ghost of Milagro Creek] simmers with metaphysical tension."—Time Out Chicago The story of Ignacia Vigil Romero, a full Jacarilla Apache, and the two boys, Mister and Tomás, she raised to adulthood unfolds in a barrio of Taos, New Mexico—a mixed community of Native Americans, Hispanics, and whites. Now deceased, Ignacia, a curandera—a medicine woman, though some say a witch—begins this tale of star-crossed lovers. Mister and Tomás, best friends until their late teens, both fall for Rocky, a gringa of some mystery, a girl Tomás takes for himself. But in a moment of despair, a pledge between the young men leads to murder. When Ignacia falls silent, police reports, witness statements, and caseworker interviews draw an electrifying portrait of a troubled community and of the vulnerable players in this mounting tragedy. Set in a terrain that becomes a character in its own right, The Ghost of Milagro Creek brilliantly illuminates this hidden corner of American society.

Aristotle "Aris" Thibodeau is 12.5 years old and destined for greatness. Ever since her father’s death, however, she’s been stuck in the small town of Kanuga, Georgia, where she has to manage her mother Diane’s floundering love life and dubious commitment to her job as an English professor. Not to mention co-parenting a little brother who hogs all the therapy money. Luckily, Aris has a plan. Following the advice laid out in Write a Novel in Thirty Days! she sets out to pen a bestseller using her charmingly dysfunctional family as material. If the Mom-character, Diane, would ditch online dating and accept that the perfect man is clearly the handyman/nanny-character, Penn MacGuffin, Aris would have the essential romance for her plot (and a father in her real life). But when a random accident uncovers a dark part of Thibodeau family history, Aris is forced to confront the fact that sometimes in life—as in great literature—things might not work out exactly as planned.

The follies of a Peace Corps woman in Africa. She is Louise Daren Parkman, an unemployed lady from Tennessee who gets herself a job teaching English in Senegal, knowing little of either. A tragicomic tale of incompetence, cultural conflicts and interracial romancing.

I am Love, I am Driven,I am? Mother.The truth is being a mom is a million things. Unfortunately, it''s not always Instagram-ready family selfies or fun-filled vacations in the sun.Unspoken Motherhood is a gripping and candid compilation book of women sharing their powerful real-life experiences-the situations that are rarely shared and brutally honest-but need to be told.These are the tragic moments of loss, of grief and heartache. But also the triumphant examples of nurturing, love and connection.This anthology is an eye-opening guide for every mother as they navigate the long and winding road of being a parent. Including deeply personal accounts such as postpartum depression, child loss, miscarriage, addiction, suicide ideation, and adoption. As well as euphoria, profound gratitude, pride, adoration, serenity and laughter.Unspoken Motherhood is a remarkable, special, and necessary tool, designed to empower and support moms on this wild ride.No one should feel alone on this journey. Get this book today and join us now.