Kerri Maher
Summer of Love (7/7/26)
A Novel
In this moving novel about the transformative power of storytelling, three women make life-changing decisions set in motion by the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco, shaping the legacy of their family’s Napa Valley winery forever.
1967: Concerts, hippies, and war protests define the counter-culture revolution that flourishes during the Summer of Love in San Francisco. No one is more into the messages of love and peace than Winnie Hartley who has just graduated from UC Berkeley determined to make it as a poet. When she reconnects with her high school boyfriend Lincoln Salyer, it feels like her life is finally everything she wants it to be. Meanwhile, her sister Miranda throws herself into running the family business, Hartley Vineyard, determined to make California wine that rivals French. Little do the sisters know that the choices they make and the secrets they keep will set their lives down radically different paths.
2015: Dawn Hartley has a secret that she can’t share with her mother Miranda, who has long been her closest confidant. How can she possibly admit that she has a drinking problem to her famous vintner mother? It feels like a betrayal of her own heritage. When an assignment for work requires her to research the wildly popular Vineland novels by a famously anonymous writer, she embarks on a quest that will shake her to the core, and just might set her life on the right path at last.
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"A moving ode to California."
- Kate Quinn, New York Times Bestselling author of The Briar Club
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"... celebrates the power of storytelling in recovery..."
- Laura McKowen, bestselling author of We Are The Luckiest
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"An immersive page-turner ... I loved this novel."
- Barbara O'Neal, author of The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth
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"...deftly transports the reader to the California of yesterday and today, and delivers a wallop of a story ..."
- Susie Orman Schnall, bestselling author of We Came Here To Shine
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All You Have To Do Is Call (2023)
A Novel
“[A] powerful, thought-provoking novel… not only important and timely, but deeply humanizing.” - Good Morning America
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“Remarkable.” - The Washington Post
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“Powerful. Dramatic. Insightful…. It’s not only a timely novel, but storytelling at its finest – a must-read.” - NPR
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An NPR Books We Love selection for 2023
Chicago, early 1970s. Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.
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The best-known secret in the city, Jane is an underground health clinic composed entirely of women helping women, empowering them to embrace their futures by offering reproductive counseling and safe, illegal abortions. Veronica, Jane’s founder, prides herself on the services she has provided to thousands of women, yet the price of others’ freedom is that she leads a double life. When she’s not at Jane, Veronica plays the role of a conventional housewife—a juggling act that becomes even more difficult during her own high-risk pregnancy.
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Two more women in Veronica’s neighborhood are grappling with similar disconnects. Margaret, a young professor at the University of Chicago, secretly volunteers at Jane as she falls in love with a man whose attitude toward his ex-wife increasingly disturbs her. Patty, who’s long been content as a devoted wife and mother, has begun to sense that something essential is missing from her life. When her runaway younger sister, Eliza, shows up unexpectedly, Patty must come to terms with what it really means to love and support a sister.
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In this historic moment, when the personal was nothing if not political, Veronica, Margaret, and Patty risk it all to help mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. With an awe-inspiring story and appealing characters, All You Have to Do Is Call celebrates the power of women coming together in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds
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The Paris Bookseller (2022)
A Novel
An ABA Indie Bookseller Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and #1 International bestseller. Veranda Magazine and Jen Hatmaker Book Club Picks.
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“A fine tribute to a tireless and selfless champion of literary genius." - Kirkus
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“Maher offers an alluring look at the history of Paris’s Shakespeare and Company bookstore." - Publishers Weekly
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“Amid Shakespeare and Company’s ups and downs…Sylvia and Adrienne create a loving partnership in a time when queer relationships were far less accepted, even in Paris…With its insider’s view of the literary expat world of 1920s Paris.” - BookPage
The dramatic story of how a humble bookseller fought against incredible odds to bring one of the most important books of the 20th century to the world.
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When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself.
Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the most prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home. It’s where some of the most important literary friendships of the twentieth century are forged—none more so than the one between Irish writer James Joyce and Sylvia herself. When Joyce’s controversial novel Ulysses is banned, Beach takes a massive risk and publishes it under the auspices of Shakespeare and Company.
But the success and notoriety of publishing the most infamous and influential book of the century comes with steep costs. The future of her beloved store itself is threatened when Ulysses’ success brings other publishers to woo Joyce away. Her most cherished relationships are put to the test as Paris is plunged deeper into the Depression and many expatriate friends return to America. As she faces painful personal and financial crises, Sylvia—a woman who has made it her mission to honor the life-changing impact of books—must decide what Shakespeare and Company truly means to her.​
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The Girl In White Gloves (2020)
A Novel
“An interesting take on the life of America’s favorite actress.”
- A Library Reads Pick for February 2020
“In this charming, picturesque novel, readers are swept away … this story is a glimpse into the dazzling life of a classic and beloved star."
- Woman’s World
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“Maher’s bio-fic feels as if it was written by Kelly herself. The novel spins a fascinating version of the Philly native’s life, from Princess of Hollywood to Princess of Monaco.”
- Philadelphia Magazine
“A thoughtful and moving book that ably illuminates a struggling albeit determined princess"
- BookTrib
A life in snapshots…
Grace knows what people see. She’s the Cinderella story. An icon of glamor and elegance frozen in dazzling Technicolor. The picture of perfection. The girl in white gloves.
A woman in living color…
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But behind the lens, beyond the panoramic views of glistening Mediterranean azure, she knows the truth. The sacrifices it takes for an unappreciated girl from Philadelphia to defy her family and become the reigning queen of the screen. The heartbreaking reasons she trades Hollywood for a crown. The loneliness of being a princess in a fairy tale kingdom that is all too real.
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Hardest of all for her adoring fans and loyal subjects to comprehend, is the harsh reality that to be the most envied woman in the world does not mean she is the happiest. Starved for affection and purpose, facing a labyrinth of romantic and social expectations with more twists and turns than Monaco’s infamous winding roads, Grace must find her own way to fulfillment. But what she risks–her art, her family, her marriage—she may never get back.​
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The Kennedy Debutante (2018)
A Novel
“A riveting reimagining of a true tale of forbidden love.” - People
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A “well-paced and engaging novel” that will “appeal to fans of TV’s Downton Abbey.” - USA Today
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“This immersive, rich portrait of a complex young woman from one of the world’s most famous families will hold readers in thrall." - Publisher’s Weekly
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“In Kick, Maher has created a likeable, occasionally naïve heroine who will intrigue readers ... this is an engrossing tale of the importance of family, faith, and love in the life of one remarkable woman.” - Booklist
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“Maher paints an immersive picture of America and London during wartime, full of remarkably vivid details…. Kick emerges as an immensely likable character…. Maher shows the true cost of war, both for those fighting and those left behind. A romantic and heartbreaking look at an often forgotten American figure.” - Kirkus
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A captivating novel following the exploits of Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, the forgotten and rebellious daughter of one of America’s greatest political dynasties.
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London, 1938. The effervescent It Girl of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy moves in rarified circles, rubbing satin covered elbows with some of the 20th century’s most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother Rose, the antics of her older brothers Jack and Joe, and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire.
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But their love is forbidden, as Kick’s devout Catholic family and Billy’s staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. When war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick gets work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie—with family or with love…
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This Is Not A Writing Manual (2013)
A Memoir
“Candid, honest advice and reflection from a writer who’s been there. “ – Publisher’s Weekly
“Clearly, Majors knows what she’s talking about, and readers will recognize they’re getting advice from someone who knows.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Majors is friendly, savvy, hip, easy to identify with, and definitely in touch with her teenage writer-self. Great reading for anyone interested in the biz, thought- provoking for those looking at any career, and good for folks wanting a pleasant nonfiction read.” – Booklist
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A writing memoir in the tradition of Anne Lamott’s classic Bird by Bird - but it’s for the young adult writer. It’s the book I wish someone had given me at fifteen, when I was editing my high school newspaper, writing short stories for speech, and dreaming of publishing a novel in the not-too-distant future. It’s the book I wish I’d been able to pluck off the shelf again at nineteen and twenty-five to remind myself that I was not alone and that the writing life was worth living.
Like YARN, my YA literary journal, TINAWM is a first of it’s kind. Before YARN, there were only a handful of places publishing short-form YA, and even fewer online, and even fewer publishing teens and adults side by side. Now there are more venues, and I’m proud to be part of that change. Before TINAWM there were only a handful of books about writing for young writers, and most of those were manuals—handy and full of smart tips and tricks for jumpstarting your writing. But there was no fellow writer putting his hand up and saying, “You want to know what it’s really like?”
When I asked at my local indie bookstore if they knew of a writing memoir for teens, they said no, and that they always recommend books from the adult shelves to aspiring young writers.
But I’ve read a number of the books from those shelves, and I know that as excellent as many of those books are, they are not speaking directly to the concerns of the young writer. So TINAWM is for you—the writer in high school or middle school or college, who wants to know what to expect between your writing life now and becoming A Writer.
