May 7, 2010 In Jeffrey Stepakoff’s Fireworks over Toccoa, it’s 1945, and Lily Davis Woodward is waiting for her husband to come back from World War II. In fact, the entire town of Toccoa, Georgia, is preparing to celebrate the return of its soldiers. The welcoming ceremonies will include a fireworks display, and the town has imported a technician named Jake Russo, a handsome young immigrant from Italy. Elaborate pyrotechnics are, of course, Jake’s stock in trade (and elaborate metaphors are this genre’s). Jeffrey Stepakoff will be in Nashville on May 10 at 7 p.m. to sign copies of his debut novel at Davis-Kidd Booksellers.

May 6, 2010 Tim Johnston’s Irish Girl, winner of the 2009 Katherine Anne Porter Prize, juxtaposes random incidents of violence and loss with moving portraits of repressed longing and regret. Written in elegiac, lyrical prose, these stories suggest that the past always weighs heavily on the present, and that, sooner or later, we will all be made to pay for our sins—or our innocence. Tim Johnston will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on May 6 at 7 p.m., and at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis on May 7 at 1 p.m.

May 3, 2010 The ideal beach read is often no more than the literary equivalent of an umbrella drink: light, frothy, and sweet. Although Holly LeCraw’s ambitious debut novel, The Swimming Pool, is none of those things, it’s worth packing with the beach towels and sunscreen anyway. LeCraw has a keen eye for details, her writing is compelling enough to keep readers engrossed, even on vacation. LeCraw will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Nashville on May 4.