Lynne Griffin

Thanks to American Booksellers Association for choosing Sea Escape as an Indie Next List Notable for July 2010.  Love independent booksellers!

I’m happy to report that Life Without Summer has been chosen as a Target Breakout Book and a Borders Summer Read.

I am over the moon to announce that my second novel, SEA ESCAPE will be published next summer by Simon & Schuster!  Below is the deal announcement from Publishers Marketplace.

LIFE WITHOUT SUMMER author Lynne Griffin’s SEA ESCAPE, about a mother trapped in a silent world following a stroke, and her daughter, who becomes desperate to unravel their tangled family history before it’s too late, to Kerri Kolen at Simon & Schuster, at auction, for publication in summer 2010, by Elisabeth Weed at Weed Literary (World).

Lauren Beckham Falcone did a great job with this q & a piece in the Boston Herald.

The Hartford Courant chose Life Without Summer as part of its Summer Books round up.

[Griffin] parlays her knowledge of family dynamics into a moving tale of two women…in this story of coping with grief and finding peace.

I’m thrilled to share my good news! I’ve been accepted to the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference at Middlebury College in Vermont.  The New Yorker calls this invitation only conference the oldest most prestigious writers’ conference in America.  Started by renowned poet, Robert Frost, previous students have included: Toni Morrison, Carson McCullers, Richard Yates, and John Irving.

I am over the moon about spending ten days this summer working on my next novel at Breadloaf!

This year’s Muse and the Marketplace conference, hosted by Grub Street Writers in Boston was memorable.  Here are a few of my favorite photos.

My session was on creating authentic characters. Note: I'll be reprising it this August at Grub Street headquarters.

My fantastic literary agent, Elisabeth Weed.

Me with dear friend and author, Hank Phillipi Ryan.

I took a class with author, Elinor Lipman.

I had the honor of hearing a keynote delivered by the esteemed, Ann Patchett.

Reporter Kathleen McKenna does a great job writing about my work with families and my new novel, Life Without Summer.  Read the full article.

The French edition of Life Without Summer
La douleur de l’absence

Three more positive reviews for Life Without Summer!

Book Reporter

One Book at a Time

SKrishna’s Books

Readers from Reading Group Guides enjoyed my guest posts!  I’ve been asked to be a regular contributor.  Stay tuned for future post dates.

Check out my guest blog posts at Reading Group Guides.

Sharing my Love of Reading with my Daughter

Inside the Writing of Life Without Summer

Writer Unboxed Part 2

Armchair Interviews

5 Minutes for a Good Book

Jungle Red Interview

Book Browse

Coming this week

• I’ll appear live on Reading with Robin (WHJJ) in Providence, RI (Date and time TBD)
• You’ll find a profile in the Boston Globe

And don’t forget to check the event listings for appearances near you.  I’d love for you to join me for a reading and signing.

Life Without Summer Trailer

Thank you to the generous staff at the marvelous independent bookstore, Buttonwood Books in Cohasset, MA!  It was a lovely afternoon.

Here are a few of my latest reviews and interviews for
Life Without Summer.

The Patriot Ledger

Writer Unboxed Part 1

Curled Up with a Good Book

Reading Group Guides

Backstory

Life Without Summer is in bookstores.  Buy your copies today!

Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of True Colors calls Life Without Summer, “A remarkable debut novel.”

From Booklist

Life without Summer
Griffin, Lynne (Author)
Apr 2009. 310 p. St. Martin’s, hardcover, $23.95. (9780312383886

Left with a stirring last vision of four-year-old daughter Abby, backpack slung over her shoulder “so wide her little head of curls stuck up like a turtle’s out of its shell,” magazine writer Tessa experiences nearparalysis caused by shock and grief in the days noted in her journal following the hit-and-run that claimed Abby. The bereaved mother starts counseling with Celia, a therapist Tessa first sees as so stiff and icy she finds herself questioning whether or not she can, or even wants to, be helped by one whose responses seem rote. Interspersed with Tessa’s journal entries and entwining the women’s lives in this stirringly believable epistolary novel are Celia’s own intimate journal entries revealing startling challenges. Winter passes, leading at last to new hope and life as Abby’s killer is surprisingly revealed and the two women, sharing ” an unending connection,” bond in an unexpected way. Griffin’s strong addition to women’s fiction should be in demand.

— Whitney Scott

The rights to publish Life Without Summer in Poland sold to Amber Publishing.  I’ll keep you posted on publication details as they become available. 

Dagen zonder Abby–translated means Days Without Abby–is the Dutch version of Life Without Summer.  It will be published in Holland in April. 

I am beyond thrilled to share the starred review for Life Without Summer that appears in this week’s Publishers Weekly. 

Life Without Summer Lynne Griffin. St. Martin’s,

Over the last few days I’ve felt a bit like a sister watching her sibling show off her new baby. I’ve held back a few tears when family members openly gushed about my dear friend Amy MacKinnon’s accomplishment with genuine love. When she opened her copy of the recently released novel, Tethered and eloquently read those haunting first lines to a crowd leaning in to savor her prose, I felt proud. And when the crowd jockeyed for a turn at congratulating her as she began to sign personalized copies, I smiled.

Amy is a member of my cherished writers’ group and a marvelous writer. I urge all of you to head out to your local independent bookseller to buy a copy of, Tethered. Read an excerpt at her site.

Congratulations, Amy. I’m so happy for you!

When I saw the advance praise for the new novel, Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos, I was delighted. A big fan (along with millions of other readers) of her first novel, Love Walked In, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. De los Santos delivers with her second gem. After finishing Belong to Me, I contacted Marisa asking if she’d like to be part of the author spotlight series posted over at my Writers’ Group blog, and lucky for her fans she agreed. I hope you enjoy the full interview.

Thanks for visiting my new website and blog. I’m thrilled with the new look! And I’m grateful for the opportunity to share the ins and outs of my writing, speaking, and family life work with you.

The new site has everything the old site had–and more. You can still watch television clips of my Fox 25 Morning News appearances, listen to radio clips, and read feature articles. A more user-friendly Library includes a new addition called Lynne in the News, and another called Lynne as Contributor. There you’ll find a recent article that appeared in the Patriot Ledger on the changing role of step-dads and an article from the Boston Globe about mothers who write.

As you can probably gather from the inclusion of information about my forthcoming novel, Life Without Summer, my family life work is moving in a new direction. I’m spending more time writing fiction, though even my novel is all about family life. Life Without Summer will be published in April, by St Martin’s Press. Via this blog and my Writers Group blog, I’ll keep you posted on the details of my writing life.

I continue to speak across the country, promoting Negotiation Generation, which highlights my approach to taking back your parental authority without punishment. If your interested in setting up a program in your community, please be in touch.

So have fun poking around the new site. There’s a lot here for you to read, listen to, and see. Of course, feel free to spread the word to interested family and friends. And do post comments, it’s a great way for you to offer your own point of view on the topics I write about.