DISCUSSION GUIDES

"I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters―sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!"―Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

The Novel Matrix explores the natural principles of storytelling that humans instinctively understand and expect in great stories. This is the foundation from which great artwork is born.
The Novel Matrix also relates plot, characters, conflict, and setting together in a way that no other craft book has done. Written in simple, nonacademic language, this is the honest, elegant solution for long-form storytelling you've been waiting for.
Armed with this information, you'll never begin another novel manuscript only to abandon it partway through the writing.
Never again will you completely overhaul a novel manuscript because it just doesn't work, but you have no idea why.
The solution is The Novel Matrix.

A literary horror debut about a boy who transforms into a monster, a monster who tries to be a man, and the people who love him in every form he takes

Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago’s lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family’s decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses—though curbed by his biological and chosen family’s communal care—threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.

A thought-provoking meditation on grief, acceptance, and the monstrous sides of love and loyalty, Gerardo Sámano Córdova blends bold imagination and evocative prose with deep emotional rigor. Told in four acts that span the globe from Brooklyn to Berlin, Monstrilio offers, with uncanny clarity, a cathartic and precise portrait of being human.

“Gripping and propulsive, Kristin Koval’s Penitence is an exploration of the struggles and impossible choices of two families linked by tragedy, guilt, blame and love.” —The Washington Post

For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether the worst thing we’ve ever done is all that defines us.

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of pre-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.

“Lange has proved herself to be a deft spinner of shamrock-tinged family yarns…. Her portrait of complicated, deeply rooted relationships is a sight to behold.”
—The New York Times

"The novel’s emotional range is impressive, particularly the slow-burn rekindling between its two leads, and snowy, close-knit Potsdam comes to life. Readers in search of a perceptive and rewarding family drama need look no further."
―Publishers Weekly

From New York Times bestselling author Tracey Lange, a poignant story about the resilience of family, the importance of community, and the magic of middle school hockey

When Kyle McCray gets word his father has suffered a debilitating stroke, he returns to his hometown of Potsdam, New York, where he doesn’t expect a warm welcome. Kyle left suddenly two and a half years ago, abandoning people who depended on him: his father, his employees, his friends—not to mention Casey, his wife of sixteen years and a beloved teacher in town. He plans to lie low and help his dad recuperate until he can leave again, especially after Casey makes it clear she wants him gone.

The longer he’s home, the more Kyle understands the impact his departure has had on the people he left behind. When he’s presented with an opportunity for redemption as the coach of the floundering middle school hockey team, he begins to find compassion in unexpected places. Kyle even considers staying in Potsdam, but that’s only possible if he and Casey can come to some kind of peace with each other.

Full of love and hope, What Happened to the McCrays? takes an intimate look at both sides of a failed marriage and two people who must finally confront the awful pain of their past or risk being consumed by it.

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

"A powerful debut that proves the threads that interweave our lives can withstand time and any tide, and bind our hearts forever."--Susanna Kearsley, New York Times bestselling author of Belleweather and The Vanished Days

A historical novel inspired by true events, Kelli Estes's brilliant and atmospheric debut is a poignant tale of two women determined to do the right thing, highlighting the power of our own stories.

The smallest items can hold centuries of secrets...

While exploring her aunt's island estate, Inara Erickson is captivated by an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in the house. The truth behind the silk sleeve dated back to 1886, when Mei Lien, the lone survivor of a cruel purge of the Chinese in Seattle found refuge on Orcas Island and shared her tragic experience by embroidering it.

As Inara peels back layer upon layer of the centuries of secrets the sleeve holds, her life becomes interwoven with that of Mei Lein. Through the stories Mei Lein tells in silk, Inara uncovers a tragic truth that will shake her family to its core--and force her to make an impossible choice. Should she bring shame to her family and risk everything by telling the truth, or tell no one and dishonor Mei Lien's memory?

A touching and tender book for fans of Marie Benedict, Susanna Kearsley, and Duncan Jepson, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk is a dual-time period novel that explores how a delicate piece of silk interweaves the past and the present, reminding us that today's actions have far reaching implications.

Praise for The Girl Who Wrote in Silk:

"A beautiful, elegiac novel, as finely and delicately woven as the title suggests. Kelli Estes spins a spellbinding tale that illuminates the past in all its brutality and beauty, and the humanity that binds us all together."

--Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Beekeeper's Ball

"A touching and tender story about discovering the past to bring peace to the present."

--Duncan Jepson, author of All the Flowers in Shanghai

"Vibrant and tragic, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk explores a horrific, little-known era in our nation's history. Estes sensitively alternates between Mei Lien, a young Chinese-American girl who lived in the late 1800s, and Inara, a modern recent college grad who sets Mei Lien's story free."

--Margaret Dilloway, author of How to Be an American Housewife and Sisters of Heart and Snow