Thank goodness for Alabama writers and Alabama stories. There are always new books of local interest to help transport us from everyday life to fascinating places.

In the past several months, books released with Alabama ties include a short story collection by 16 of the state's most famous writers, a biography of famous football coaches, a young adult book and Christian and paranormal tales of romance.

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There's something for everyone on this list:

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"Heart Chimes" by Denise Jannette Bruneau

Buy now: $27,99, Amazon

The Amazon synopsis says: "Denise Janette Bruneau brings us another story about hope, love, and unyielding faith in God. Dr. Marla Devereaux tries to balance her career as an ER doctor with her duties as a wife until she discovers that her husband has been having an affair while hiding his infidelity as frequent "business trips." Devastated with the loss of her marriage, Marla's life suddenly changes when she receives a letter in the mail, informing her of an inheritance from her grandmother in Guntersville, Alabama. Moving into her grandparents' lake house from her home in Cincinnati, Marla finds a man already there, an ER nurse named Micah Brady [and] … the two of them rediscover true, Godly love."

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"Alabama Noir," edited by Don Nobles

Buy now: $12.57, Amazon

This Akashic Books short-story anthology features 16 new tales from Alabama authors, including Ace Atkins, Tom Franklin, Anita Miller Garner, Suzanne Hudson, Kirk Curnutt, Wendy Reed, Carolyn Haines, Anthony Grooms, Michelle Richmond, Winston Groom, Ravi Howard, Thom Gossom Jr., Brad Watson, Daniel Wallace, D. Winston Brown and Marlin Barton.

Publishers Weekly says, "The 16 tales in this entertaining Akashic noir anthology cover the entire state of Alabama...The flaws are few and far between, and as is so often the case for the series, each contributor consistently embraces the setting."





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"Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened" by Emily Blejwas

Buy now: $9.99, Amazon

Mobile's Emily Blejwas has published her first young adult novel. Amazon synopsis says: "A poignant story of a boy picking up the pieces of his life after the unexpected death of his father, and the loyalty, concern, and friendship he finds in his small-town community. Justin doesn't know anything these days. Like how to walk down the halls without getting stared at. Or what to say to Jenni. Or how Phuc is already a physics genius in seventh grade. Or why Benny H. wanders around Wicapi talking to old ghosts. … Justin doesn't know how people can act like everything's fine when it's so obviously not. And most of all, he doesn't know what really happened the night his dad died on the train tracks. And that sucks. But life goes on. And as it does, Justin discovers that some things are just unknowable."

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"Glory Road" by Lauren Denton

Buy now: $6.47, Amazon

"Glory Road" was Homewood author Lauren Denton's second book. The Amazon synopsis says: "As three generations of women navigate the uncertain paths of their hearts and futures, one summer promises to bring change—whether they're ready for it or not. At thirty-eight, garden shop owner Jessie McBride thinks her chances for romance are years behind her and, after her failed marriage, she's fine with that. She lives contentedly with her fiery mother and her quiet, headstrong daughter. But the unexpected arrival of two men on Glory Road make her question if she's really happy with the status quo. …In one summer, everything will change. But for these three strong Southern women, the roots they've planted on Glory Road will give life to the adventures waiting just around the curve."

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"The Summer House" by Lauren Denton

Buy now: $26.99, Amazon

Look for Denton’s third book, which is set in Alabama, coming soon.

The Amazon synopsis begins: "Sometimes it takes losing everything to find yourself again. Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated, but a flyer at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community provides a refuge while she contemplates her next steps…."

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"Cold Waters" by Debbie Herbert

Buy now: $8.55, Amazon

Alabama's Debbie Herbert is a USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestselling writer of paranormal romance novels. Amazon synopsis: "From USA Today bestselling author Debbie Herbert comes a thrilling story of murder and madness set in the darkest corner of Alabama. Everyone thinks fourteen-year-old Violet is a murderer. After a summer-night swim with her best friend, Ainsley, Violet is found confused, wandering in the forest—and Ainsley's never seen again. But without a body, murder charges won't stick, so Violet is sent away. After more than a decade in a psychiatric ward, Violet returns to her broken-down hometown of Normal, Alabama, to claim her dead mother's inheritance and help her overworked sister care for their unstable, alcoholic father. Violet, still haunted by that night eleven years ago, endures horrific flashbacks and twisted hallucinations while townsfolk spit accusations—and for all she knows, they're right."

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"Stars of Alabama: A Novel By Sean of the South" by Sean Dietrich

Buy now: $5.01, Amazon

Sean Dietrich, known as Sean of the South, lives in Florida but his columns are frequently seen in Alabama newspapers. The Amazon synopsis says: "When fifteen-year-old Marigold becomes pregnant amid the Great Depression, she is rejected by her family and forced to fend for herself. And when she loses her baby in the forest, her whole world turns upside down. She's even more distraught upon discovering she has an inexplicable power that makes her both beautiful and terrifying—and something of a local legend. …"

(Read more about the book here.)

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"Will the Circle Be Unbroken? A Memoir of Learning to Believe You're Gonna Be Okay" by Sean Dietrich

Buy now: $16.97, Amazon

Sean of the South also published a memoir. The Amazon synopsis says, "From celebrated storyteller "Sean of the South" comes an unforgettable memoir of love, loss, the friction of family memories, and the unlikely hope that you're gonna be alright. Sean Dietrich was twelve years old when he scattered his father's ashes from the mountain range. His father was a man who lived for baseball, a steel worker with a ready wink, who once scaled a fifty-foot tree just to hang a tire swing for his son. He was also the stranger who tried to kidnap and kill Sean's mother before pulling the trigger on himself. He was a childhood hero, now reduced to a man in a box. Will the Circle Be Unbroken? is the story of what happens after the unthinkable, and the journey we all must make in finding the courage to stop the cycles of the past from laying claim to our future."

(Read more here.)

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"Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee" by Casey Cep

Published: May 7, 2019

Buy now: $16.79, Amazon

The story of an Alabama man known as a voodoo priest and the case Harper Lee planned a book around. The Amazon synopsis says: "Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend. Sitting in the audience during the vigilante's trial was Harper Lee, who had traveled from New York City to her native Alabama with the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research seventeen years earlier."

(Read more here.)

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"Chasing the Bear: How Bear Bryant and Nick Saban Made Alabama the Greatest College Football Program of All Time" by Lars Anderson

Buy now: $20.07, Amazon

The Amazon synopsis says: "A dual biography of two coaching legends – Bear Bryant and Nick Saban – who built the Alabama Crimson Tide into a true football dynasty."