Bywater Books Signs Avery Brooks

ANN ARBOR, MI:  Bywater Books is pleased to announce the signing of debut author, AVERY BROOKS. “It’s such a joy to work with authors like Avery,” said publisher Salem West. “She writes stories you want to read, stories that are full of heart and an unquenchable passion for things that matter most in our lives and in our world—I can’t wait to share her writing with our readers.”

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One woman must confront her emotional demons if she’s going to open her heart to love again.

Three years after the sudden loss of her wife to a brain aneurysm, thirty-four-year-old Samantha Parker focuses her attention on caring for her five-year-old son Jake. She lives in her hometown of New Orleans where she has a close relationship with her family and her best friend, Drea, who is a loyal friend when she’s not busy sleeping her way through the local lesbian population.

Sam’s wife Anna was the love of her life and she can’t imagine ever finding such a love again. Instead, she focuses on being the best mother to Jake she can be and getting through each day as it comes. It’s not exciting, but she understands that she had her love story with Anna. As long as she gets her weekly girls’ night out with Drea and her softball team keeps winning, everything is fine. That is, until Ashley Valence, the girl who tormented Sam throughout high school, moves back home after sixteen years. Ashley, the former softball star, joins Sam’s softball team, sending Sam into a series of nightmares. As tensions rise on the softball field, the unexpected and undeniable chemistry between the women grows.

No matter how much Sam wants to hate Ashley, those once icy green eyes only hold warmth now. As Sam introduces Ashley into her life with Jake, she begins to let go of the past to follow her heart. But when Jake is bullied by a student at school, all of the former hurts resurface for Sam, and she lashes out at Ashley in an attempt to protect both herself and her son. Though Sam realizes her knee-jerk reactions are wrong, she also begins to realize that she’s in love with Ashley.

One last problem remains—can she trust her heart to someone who once hurt her so deeply?

Other Girls is scheduled for a November 2019 release.

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AVERY BROOKS grew up on the East Coast and has spent the years since gradually moving west. She has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology and has been fortunate to travel extensively, studying animals in their natural environment. While conducting postdoctoral research in New Orleans, she fell in love with the city, which has featured prominently in her writing. She has taught at multiple universities, but her most rewarding experiences involved teaching interdisciplinary courses on dominance, climate change, and LGBT studies.

Avery is a graduate of the 2018 Golden Crown Literary Society’s Writing Academy. When she’s not busy reading and writing fiction, she uses her free time to advocate for social justice issues, women’s empowerment, and animal conservation in the face of a rapidly changing climate. She lives in Colorado, where she enjoys hiking with her two dogs, witty banter, and geeking out over seemingly disparate topics that are actually quite connected.