On Saturday, May 8, 1993, a new store opened in Clairemont Square, dedicated to the staff’s passion for books of “Martians, Murder, Magic and Mayhem.” Today, more than twenty years later, that passion continues. We invite you to join us on Saturday, May 10, for our annual all-day celebration, featuring some fantastic spotlight authors from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, special bargains, and, of course, cake!
11:00 AM : Spotlight on Young Readers and Young Adults
Debra Driza Signs Mila 2.0
Mila is back on the run--this time with potential boyfriend Hunter by her side. As they search for a man who might know more about her mysterious past, Mila must rely on her android abilities to protect them from the people who want her dead. But embracing her identity as a machine leads her to question the state of her humanity, as well as Hunter's true intentions.
11:00 AM : Spotlight on Young Readers and Young Adults
Amy Tintera Signs Rebel
After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake . . . he's underestimated Wren and Callum.
11:00 AM : Spotlight on Young Readers and Young Adults
Jenn Reese Signs Horizon
Aluna and Hoku, Kampii from the City of Shifting Tides, and their friends, Equian Dash and winged Aviar Calli, are determined to stop a war. The maniacal ex-scientist Karl Strand is planning to conquer the world with his enormous army of tech-enhanced soldiers . . . unless the four friends can get to Strand first.
11:00 AM : Spotlight on Young Readers and Young Adults
Greg Weisman Signs Rain of the Ghosts
In the Prospero Keys, or Ghost Keys, Rain Cacique inherits a strange armband that gives her the ability to see ghosts, including that of her grandfather who is determined to show her how special she is by revealing the Ghost Keys' hidden world.
Noon : Spotlight on John Lescroart
John Lescroart Signs The Keeper
Our noon spotlight is on The Keeper, the latest from bestselling crime thriller author John Lescroart. Against a backdrop of conspiracy and corruption, ambiguous motives and suspicious alibis, an obsessed Abe Glitsky closes in on the elusive truth behind a string of homicides, aided by Disman Hardy. As other deaths begin to pile up, he realizes, perhaps too late, that the next victim might be him.
1:00 PM : Spotlight on Speculative Fiction
Janet Tait Signs Cast Into Darkness
The last thing Kate Hamilton wants is to be dragged into her spell-caster family's war against the rival Makris clan. But when an innocent favor pulls Kate into a perilous contest with ancient, deadly magic, she must either trust the enemy who betrayed her or lose herself to the power's dark embrace.
1:00 PM : Spotlight on Speculative Fiction
Gini Koch Signs Alien Collective
Despite not having run for office, nor wanting to remain in office, Representative Jeff Martini is being wooed as the vice presidential running mate for a charismatic senator who seems likely to win the campaign. While the Diplomatic Corps has to deal with the pressures of a political campaign sure to uncover secrets they don't want shared with the world, Ambassador Kitty Katt-Martini has other worries--handling the reemergence of her most potent nemesis, thought dead and buried.
1:00 PM : Spotlight on Speculative Fiction
Chris Marie Green Signs Only The Good Die Young
My name is Jensen Murphy, and thirty years ago, I was just an ordinary California girl. I had friends, family, a guy who might have been the One. Ordinary--until I became a statistic, one of the unsolved murders of the year. Afterward, I didn't go anywhere in pursuit of any bright light--I stayed under the oak tree where my body was found, and relived my death over and over. So when a psychic named Amanda Lee Minter pulled me out of that loop into the real world, I was very grateful. Now I'm a ghost-at-large--rescued by Amanda (I found out) to be a supernatural snoop. I'm helping her uncover a killer (not mine--she promises me we'll get to that), which should be easy for a spirit. Except that I've found out that even ghosts have enemies, human--and otherwise...
1:00 PM : Spotlight on Speculative Fiction
Jeff Mariotte Signs Star Trek: Serpents in the Garden
Early in his five-year mission commanding the U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk found himself caught up in a growing conflict on the planet Neural. To maintain the balance of power against a force being armed by the Klingons, he provided weapons to his new friends, the Hill People. Years later, Admiral Kirk learns that the Klingon presence on Neural has grown considerably, and in possible violation of the Treaty of Organia. Did his impulse as a young captain turn out disastrously wrong? Could he have done more to eliminate the Klingon threat? To find out, Kirk must embark on a secret mission back to Neural--where he might just be the only person who can prevent an interstellar war...
2:00 PM : Spotlight on Fantastic Fiction
Mary Robinette Kowal Signs Valour and Vanity
After Melody's wedding, the Ellsworths and Vincents accompany the young couple on their tour of the continent. Jane and Vincent plan to separate from the party and travel to Murano to study with glassblowers there, but their ship is set upon by Barbary corsairs while en route. It is their good fortune that they are not enslaved, but they lose everything to the pirates and arrive in Murano destitute.Jane and Vincent are helped by a kind local they meet en route, but Vincent is determined to become self-reliant and get their money back, and hatches a plan to do so. But when so many things are not what they seem, even the best laid plans conceal a few pitfalls.
2:00 PM : Spotlight on Fantastic Fiction
Marie Brennan Signs The Tropic of Serpents
Three years after her fateful journeys through the forbidding mountains of Vystrana, in which she lost her husband, the widowed Mrs. Camherst defies family and convention to embark on an expedition to the savage, war-torn continent of Eriga, home of such exotic draconian species as the grass-dwelling snakes of the savannah, arboreal tree snakes, and, most elusive of all, the legendary swamp-wyrms of the tropics. The expedition is not an easy one. Accompanied by both an old associate and a runaway heiress, Isabella must brave oppressive heat, merciless fevers, palace intrigues, gossip, and other hazards in order to satisfy her boundless fascination with all things draconian, even if it means venturing deep into the forbidden jungle known as the Green Hell . . . where her courage, resourcefulness, and scientific curiosity will be tested as never before.
4:00 PM : Spotlight on Mystery & Suspense
David Putnam Signs The Disposables
Bruno Johnson, a tough street cop, member of the elite violent crime task force, feared by the bad guys, admired by the good, finds his life derailed when a personal tragedy forces him to break the law. Now he's an ex-con and his life on parole is not going well. He is hassled by the police at every opportunity and to make matters even more difficult, his former partner, Robby Wicks, now a high-ranking detective, bullies him into helping solve a high profile crime - unofficially, of course. Meantime, Bruno's girlfriend, Marie, brings out the good, the real Bruno, and even though they veer totally outside the law, he and Marie dedicate themselves to saving abused children, creating a type of underground railroad for neglected kids at risk, disposable kids. What they must do is perilous they step far outside the law, battling a warped justice system and Bruno's former partner, with his own evil agenda.
4:00 PM : Spotlight on Mystery & Suspense
Elizabeth Reyes Signs Desert Heat
Between running from her past, working three jobs, and worrying about her family, the only thing that could further complicate singer Bethany Amaya's life is falling in love. But after serendipitously attending a speed dating event and meeting the intense and sexy detective Damian Santiago, that's exactly what happens. In the blink of an eye, Bethany is caught up in a passionate affair with the most irresistible man she's ever met. As their romance heats up, Damian's skills of detecting and reading body language begin to raise his suspicions. Bethany is keeping something from him. But Bethany refuses to get Damian caught up in her troubles. She feels that some things are better left unsaid. With everything suddenly working against her, the race is on to fix her life before the truth is revealed and Damian finds out it's even worse than he imagines.
4:00 PM : Spotlight on Mystery & Suspense
Kelly Parsons Signs Doing Harm
There are many ways to die in a hospital…being sick is only one of them.
Chief
resident Steve Mitchell is the quintessential surgeon: ambitious,
intelligent, confident. Charged with molding a group of medical
trainees into doctors, and in line for a coveted job, Steve’s future is
bright. But then a patient mysteriously dies, and it quickly becomes
clear that a killer is on the loose in his hospital. A killer set on
playing a deadly game with Steve. A killer holding information that
could ruin his career and marriage. Now, alone and under a cloud of
suspicion, Steve must discover a way to outsmart his opponent and save
the killer's next victim before the cycle repeats itself again and
again…
A chilling and compelling thriller that also takes
you into the hospital and details the politics and hierarchy among
doctors, as well as the life and death decisions that are made by flawed
human beings, Kelly Parsons' Doing Harm marks the gripping debut of a major fiction career.About the Author
KELLY PARSONS is a board-certified urologist with degrees from
Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins, and
he is on the faculty at the University of California San Diego. He
lives with his family in Southern California. Doing Harm is his first novel.