Caught between a dream life and a real life…
My New York Times bestselling debut novel The Bookseller (HarperCollins, 2015) tells the story of Kitty Miller, a single woman in her late 30s who owns a bookshop with her best friend and begins to have nightly dreams of an alternative reality in which she's a married woman with children (and no more bookstore). Set in Denver in the early 1960s, The Bookseller explores the butterfly effect—how one small change of circumstance can set off a cascade of different events.
The Bookseller has been translated into 18 languages. Read an excerpt here. A reading group guide is here.
Grab your copy of The Bookseller from any of these retailers:
Your favorite independent bookseller (find one on Indie Bound)
These Denver favorites of mine:
Awards:
Winner, WILLA Award 2016 for Historical Fiction from Women Writing the West
Indie Next selection (March 2015)
2015 Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Historical Fiction
MPIBA 2105 Reading the West Award nominee
Colorado Authors' League 2015 CAL Awards finalist
Women's Fiction Writers' Association 2015 Star Award finalist
High Plains Book Award 2016 finalist
Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Achievement Award 2015
National Print and Online Media Reviews
The Bookseller has over 11,000 4-star and 5-star reviews on Goodreads!
Redbook: "Will make you think about the paths you could have taken - but even more so, what you can learn from them to make your reality richer."
BookPage: The Bookseller was voted one of their top ten books in May, 2015.
USA Today: "Delivers on its fantasy scenario like a modern-day fairy tale...highly satisfying."
Publisher's Weekly: "Swanson’s evocative novel freshly considers the timeless question, ‘What if?’”
Library Journal (starred review): "A stunner of a debut novel, astonishingly tight and fast paced. The 1960s tone is elegant and even."
#BookfaceFriday....image courtesy Samara Nicoll of Otter Books (nelson, bc)