Are you as distressed as I am that Downton Abbey will soon be ending FOR GOOD? (sob) Given the world-wide popularity of the show, there are surprisingly few books set in the Edwardian era that incorporate the upstairs-downstairs, love-interest and drama that make the show so engaging (to say nothing of the yummy fashions.) But, in an attempt to offer solace, I’ve gathered a few volumes which segue in and beyond the period of Downton, in which one may take refuge after the glorious series images fade—ending with a tantalizing treat coming soon from series creator Julian Fellowes that you won’t want to miss! THE MEMORY OF LOST SENSES Buy THE MEMORY OF LOST SENSES: Amazon.com | Kindle| BN.com| iTunes/iBooks | Kobo | Google Play | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR We’ll begin with a book that incorporates some “Country House Mystery” elements, Judith Kinghorn’s THE MEMORY OF LOST SENSES. When a mysterious countess moves into a large country house outside her English village in the summer of 1911, Cecily Chadwick is thrilled and tantalized. Soon, stories begin to circulate about the countess’s wealth, husbands, lovers, and…

If you said yes to both questions, please consider signing up to judge The Carolyn Readers Choice Award contest. The North Texas chapter of Romance Writers of America is looking for approximately 250-300 romance readers to help choose winners in five romance sub-categories. To be eligible, you must be 18 years of age or older and not affiliated with the publishing industry in any way, to include being an aspiring author. Judging involves reading up to five books in their entirety and filling out an online score sheet. Contest closes for entries on February 14, 2016 and judging panels will be emailed out sometime starting February 21st. Judging deadline is April 14th. For more information and to sign up, visit the.carolyn.judge.info. If you have any further questions, contact Clover Autrey and/or Jen FitzGerald, the contest coordinators at [email protected]. Please feel free to forward the opportunity to any family or friends you think might be interested.

Fresh Pick for Thursday, January 21st, 2016 is WRITTEN IN FIRE by Marcus Sakey #SupernaturalThursday – end to a great trilogy About WRITTEN IN FIRE The explosive conclusion to the bestselling Brilliance Trilogy For thirty years humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the 1 percent of people born with remarkable gifts. For thirty years we tried to avoid a devastating civil war. We failed. The White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp. In Wyoming, an armed militia of thousands marches toward a final, apocalyptic battle. Nick Cooper has spent his life fighting for his children and his country. Now, as the world staggers on the edge of ruin, he must risk everything he loves to face his oldest enemy—a brilliant terrorist so driven by his ideals that he will sacrifice humanity’s future to achieve them. From “one of our best storytellers” (Michael Connelly) comes the blistering conclusion to the acclaimed series that is a “forget-to-pick-up-milk, forget-to-water-the-plants, forget-to-eat total immersion experience” (Gillian Flynn). Buy WRITTEN IN FIRE: Amazon.com | Kindle|BN.com | Kobo | Powell’s Books | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR About Marcus Sakey…

In the first book of my new Dangerous Type mystery series you’ll meet Clare Henry and her grandfather, Chester. Chester opened his shop, The Rescued Word, back in the 1950s. Along with repairing typewriters, Chester had a vision: he wanted to save all kinds of words, including those in books. He decided to learn how to repair books, bring them back to their original glory. This included mastering how to reprint badly damaged and unsalvageable pages. Back in the 1950s there were no personal computers that might help with this task. Besides, it would have gone against Chester’s ways to use something like a computer to repair an old book. He wanted his own printing press, and he wanted one of the best. Of course, owning an original Gutenberg press would have been out of reach, so he decided to build his own – a perfect Gutenberg replica. A quick look back in time – clay tablets were probably the first books. From there, books took on many different forms with their pages being made of things like papyrus, bone, wood, silk, and parchment. Paper was invented in China around the first century A.D. For a time during the dark…