Nan McCarthy

author of Since You Went Away, Chat, Connect, Crash, & Live ’Til I Die

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I needed an escape read after the rage-inducing Empire of Pain, and Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot was a fun distraction. Jacob Finch Bonner’s stalled writing career has made him one unhappy camper who hates his job teaching creative writing to MFA students. He especially hates the pretentious douchebag in the class who says he doesn’t need anyone’s help writing his novel because he’s got a plot that’s so great it’s a guaranteed bestseller. (Which begs the question, then why is this turd in the class to begin with?) Jacob is skeptical until he hears the plot, which he agrees is a wowzer. He waits a couple years for his former student’s book to be published and when it doesn’t appear in a Google search, Jacob finds out the student died not long after completing the MFA program.

If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough ☘️

Before my mom died of cancer in 2002, she benefited greatly from the pain-relieving effects of OxyContin. In fact, my mom was the ideal candidate for such a powerful drug: She’d been admitted into hospice to live out the remaining months of her life in a hospital bed in the first-floor study of our home, where she could watch the birds in our front yard through the large picture window.

My first noteworthy read of 2023. Four siblings are due to inherit a significant sum of money from the trust their late father set up for them. “The Nest,” as they call it, stipulated they were not to receive their payouts until the youngest of the four turns 40, because Pops wanted them to develop good financial habits before receiving what amounts to half a million dollars for each of them. One problem is that each of the siblings squandered their own finances for various reasons in expectation of receiving The Nest. Another problem is that their oldest brother Leo has now jeopardized everyone’s inheritance due to getting himself in serious legal trouble which led to a stint in rehab and which their emotionally distant, self-centered mom paid for using everyone’s share of The Nest! They all desperately want their money back and they all have secrets they’re hiding from their loved ones and from each other. Can Leo make good on paying them back? And if he can, will he choose to do the right thing after a lifetime of very bad choices?

Christmas 2022

Our annual Christmas book stack and yeah I love Snoopy 🎄📚✨

Read this book with my super smart niece Faith recently. A young Hawaiian boy falls overboard while his family is on a boat tour and is soon encircled by sharks. But instead of attacking the boy the sharks gently return him to his mother who had jumped in the water to save her son. From that point forward the boy becomes something of a Hawaiian legend and the entire family is affected by the widespread belief that their son / brother has mystical powers. The story has hints of magical realism but that doesn’t overshadow the stark realities of a family struggling with poverty & the internal dynamics of family relationships. The parents put too much focus on their middle son while the other two siblings grow resentful of the attention on their brother. Meanwhile the high expectations of everyone around him cause the middle son to develop his own struggles. It’s really a story about family relationships mixed with layers of Hawaiian culture & legends. I liked this book for the most part though it did drag in spots where the mystical descriptions of nature became repetitive, especially near the end. But there’s a lot of substance to the story & I liked the way each chapter is told through the eyes of a different family member. Some beautifully written passages really nail the complexities of family relationships & this passage about motherhood written from the mother’s point of view really spoke to me:

This is the first year Rainwater Press is featured in Military Families Magazine 2022 Holiday Shopping Guide and I am super excited to be included alongside other military-affiliated businesses like R. Riveter (handbags made by military spouses) and K9 Salute (a natural dog treat company that gives back to military working dogs). To celebrate the inclusion of Rainwater Press in this year’s directory, prices for all four books in the Since You Went Away series are *still* 25% off! I had one of my best-ever sales months in November with this promotion so I’ve decided to keep it going into the holiday season. Support verified small businesses owned by military service members, veterans, and spouses this holiday season by purchasing gifts listed in the directory.

Happy December 1st. I went big on advent calendars as Christmas gifts this year and my hubs surprised me last night with my very own advent calendar of short stories. 25 stories in a cute little boxed set. Husband FTW on gift-giving this year. 🎄🎁📚🤓🧡💜💛

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Blog (35)
Books (33)
- biography/memoir (6)
  - Live ’Til I Die (6)
- fiction (23)
  - Chat: book one (4)
  - Connect: book two (4)
  - Crash: book three (4)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Four: Fall) (2)
  - Since You Went Away (Part One: Winter) (3)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Three: Summer) (2)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Two: Spring) (2)
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Military Families Magazine 2022 Holiday Shopping Guide

Support military-affiliated small business owners this holiday season by purchasing gifts from verified entrepreneurs including military service members, veterans, & spouses.…

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