Coming Soon! Gayle Brandeis

Contest alert. Next week you can win a signed copy of Gayle Brandeis' latest book, MY LIFE WITH THE LINCOLNS (Henry Holt).

And you may also ask Gayle questions in the comment section about writing or about the process of researching Abraham Lincoln and the Chicago Freedom Movement.

The book jacket blurb reads:

Mina Edelman believes that she and her family are the Lincolns reincarnated. Her main tasks for the next three months: to protect her father from assassination, her mother from insanity, and herself--Willie Lincoln incarnate--from death at age twelve.

Apart from that, the summer of 1966 should be like any other. But Mina's dad begins taking Mina along to hear speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago. And soon he brings the freedom movement to their own small town, with consequences for everyone.

Monday's post will feature an interview with Gayle about researching and writing this fascinating book. And Gayle graciously agreed to answer questions you ask.

This is Gayle's first novel aimed at younger readers. She is the winner of Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for THE BOOK OF DEAD BIRDS. The prize is awarded to books that address social justice and the impact on culture and relationships.

Gayle's writing is at once lyrical and meaningful. Here is the opening from 'Dead Birds,' a story of a mixed-race girl whose Korean-born mother had been trapped into prostitution with American soldiers.

I remember the first time I flew.

I was four years old. My mother decided to take me to Balboa Park for the afternoon. I watched the back of her short-sleeved blouse as we crossed the parking lot to the playground; the sky-blue fabric tightened, then loosened, tightened, then loosened, across her shoulder blades, pointy as chicken wings. I tried to catch up, but my mother was too fast. Even then, I knew she didn't like to be seen with me in public.

From the beginning, the tone is set for this difficult mother-daughter relationship, for a child who doesn't fit, for the freedom of flight.

Gayle's other books include SELF STORAGE, a novel set in the year following the September 11 terrorist attacks, and FRUITFLESH: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write.

2010 also marks the release of another of Gayle's novels, DELTA GIRLS (Ballantine) on June 22.

Disclosure: The hardcover copy of MY LIFE WITH THE LINCOLNS is from the publisher, and I should note that I've known Gayle for years and we are friends.

The contest rules will be like most. You'll get one entry for a comment, an additional one for posting a link and another for tweeting. I hope you'll join us.