We add three new novels to our Midwest Connections Picks starting in February.  All of these books deal in their own ways with matters of the HEART, which makes them perfect choices for this month!

MBA booksellers — here’s a banner to add to your store’s website to promote these three books.

A novel for women of a certain age who are hot and bothered by society’s double standards. Champagne happy hours mandatory. Cubs get in free.

THE COUGAR CLUB
A Novel
Susan McBride

Avon A / HarperCollins Publishers
$13.99 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-0-06-1777126-2
On sale January 26, 2010
Women’s contemporary fiction set in St. Louis

“Susan McBride knows women and she knows cougars. This is more than evident in her newest book, THE COUGAR CLUB. McBride brings her humor and skill to women’s fiction in this book that reunites three 40-something friends in their hometown and shines a spotlight on their love lives — with younger men. The relationships between the women are a highlight, and as a bonus, McBride takes the reader on a wild ride through St Louis and some of its quirky customs. When I finished, I wanted to know when the sequel would be ready!”
– Vicki Erwin, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books…”
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

WEEPING UNDERWATER LOOKS
A LOT LIKE LAUGHTER
Michael J. White

G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Penguin Book Group (USA)
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-339-15590-1
On sale February 4, 2010

This debut novel set in Des Moines is a smart, darkly funny coming-of-age tale of growing up and going under.

Read author Michael J. White’s comments on the creation of WEEPING UNDERWATER and sample this chapter from the book!

“I’d bet big money that this novel is about to become one of your favorite books. It’s a blood-red first-love story, a raw dealing of tragedy and its aftermath, and a wild spin throughthe lust- and grief-addled mind of one of the most honest and deliriously inventive narrators I’ve ever read….  WEEPING UNDERWATER will leave you hoarse from laughing, weak in the knees, possibly craving Iowa State Fair pickles, and helplessly in love.” 
– Karen Russell, author of St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

IN A HEARTBEAT
Loretta Ellsworth

Walker & Company / Macmillan
$16.99 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2068-9
On sale February 2010
Young Adult Fiction set in Milwaukee and Minneapolis

“IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth was an amazing book. It was given to me as a new unknown book that I could read and review, and I read it all in one sitting.  The story is told by Eagan and Amelia, two teenage girls connected by life and death.  The two different narratives make this story impossible to put down. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart.”  
– Rachel Hettrick, Book Mouse, Ottawa, IL

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

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Midwest Connections Picks Now in Paperback!

A RELIABLE WIFE
A Novel
Robert Goolrick
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Workman Publishing
ISBN: 9781565129771
$14.95 Trade Paperback

THE ROSE VARIATIONS
Marisha Chamberlain
Soho Press
distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution
ISBN:  978-1-56947-618-5
$14.00 Trade Paperback

IRREPLACEABLE
Stephen Lovely
Voice / Hyperion
distributed by HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-4013-4121-3
$14.99 Trade Paperback

Buy all of these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores

MBA Booksellers –
Save the date of your choice!

Saturday, March 6
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
at The Depot Minneapolis Hotel

Sunday, March  21
ST. LOUIS, MO
This meeting will be co-hosted by MBA and ABA
at Left Bank Books, downtown St. Louis

We are working on these meetings now, and we will announce plans and details as we get them them confirmed.  Please check back soon and register to attend!

Click on our Spring Meetings page, where we will provide the schedules of events and registration forms for these two meetings as soon as they are ready to be posted.

If you have questions, please let us know.

Paz & Associates has a NEW personalized newsletter for MBA bookstores!

Contact them today to sign up for this great new newsletter designed to help you attract new customers to your store.
Midwest Connections Picks books are included, too!

All the details and contact info you need are on a new web page we’ve set up for this newsletter. 

Paz will be happy to send you a sample copy of the February-March issue to review, too.  It includes the Midwest Connections Picks titles HAPPY, OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS, and THE COUGAR CLUB!

•  Getting Started Flyer (PDF)
•  2010 Publisher Co-op At-A-Glance (PDF)
   $$$$ — Take a look at all the co-op that’s available to you… and from whom. There’s about $10,000 that will be available to ANY bookstore in 2010!  This doesn’t even include your pool co-op, just the exempt newsletter funds.
•  Video – Newsletter Marketing for Indie Booksellers
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68_eyU0Knfk
   http://pazbookbiz.com/Bookstore-Training-Consulting-Services/Customer-Newsletter.aspx

Be sure to go to the web page for this newsletter to get complete information!

Winter is here — time to grab a good book and a hot drink and READ! Here are two books sure to capture your interest…

An emotion-charged, wrenching — and unexpectedly humorous — self-portrait of  one young man’s survival in body and in spirit

HAPPY
A MEMOIR
Alex Lemon

Scribner / Simon & Schuster
$25.00 Hardcover
ISBN 9781416550235

“ With the urgency and rhythm of a street poet, Alex “Happy” Lemon chronicles a life of illness, addiction, recovery and redemption in his memoir called, simply, HAPPY. I will gladly recommend this gripping and tragic book to any parent— especially mothers—of a child in peril AND to the children who take them down a road for which they are unprepared.  Yes, this is the story of an addict and his recovery. Yes, this is the story of triumphing over a rare and dangerous illness. Yes, this is the story of a difficult parent’s redemption. But in Alex Lemon’s hands, this seemingly familiar tale will yield a surprised and happy reader.”
—Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books & Café, Wichita, Kansas

Watch Alex Lemon’s video: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv2HypmfOqI

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

The fascinating history of  Upper Midwest logging and the American tall tale hero Paul Bunyan!

OUT OF THE NORTHWOODS
The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan
Michael Edmonds

Wisconsin Historical Society Press
$24.95 Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-87020-437-1
Upper Midwest regional history; American folklore

“Rooted in the ingenuity of the pioneer spirit, this book presents an unvarnished look at the culture of the late nineteenth century lumber industry, how it shaped our region, the country, and created the legend of Paul Bunyan.  Using the words of  lumberjacks and old camp pictures, Edmonds traces the ambiguous roots of Paul Bunyan while giving us a clearer picture of lumber camp life.  In addition, the book contains over 100 legends of Paul Bunyan and a fantastic list of references for further research!”
– Angie Grafstrom, Inspiration Hollow, Roseau, MN

For more details about this book, plus Midwest Connections marketing materials for our booksellers, click here.

Buy these books from your favorite locally owned and operated Midwest independent bookseller!
Click here for the directory of our member bookstores