Sarah Dunant wouldn't dream of switching careers; unless she suddenly woke up with a voice -- singing that is. Her latest release, Sacred Hearts is about a young woman in Renaissance Italy who is forced into a convent against her will and is determined to get out.

Her outlet for things wordy is divided between the act of writing and teaching others to write -- a dual compliment. Hope Edelman lives in Topanga Canyon, California with her husband and two pre-teen daughters. You may know her best from the international bestseller Motherless Daughters.

Lauren has three books published under Goldstein and a young adult novel as Jessie Elliot. Her latest release is A Friend of the Family. Read on to learn more about it and this author's writing habits.

Its official name is the Miami Book Fair International and it is one of the biggest highlights in November (this year it runs from the 8th to the 15th) for the Miami, Florida area drawing in fine authors, bookies, bookie wannabes and aspiring authors for indoor and outdoor events.

Kamila Shamsie's book is divided into four time periods: Nagasaki in 1945; New Dehli in 1947, Pakistan in 1982 and New York / Afghanistan in 2001. If I had to describe it in one word it would be 'tender'. The last line of each chapter spurred me on to the next.

Magazine sales are down, newspaper sales are down, and book sales are down. Sure we all buy less in a recession and with the price of books. But the recession is not the only factor affecting book sales.