Newsletter

Read my first and most recent newsletter, here, for a sense of what you’re signing up for. If you enjoy it I hope you’ll sign up!

Archived Newsletters

Welcome back to my newsletter! – 8/13/2021
THE EXILES Paperback Launch – 07/06/2021
Christina’s Second Newsletter – 06/28/2021
Christina’s First Newsletter – 06/14/2021

Read Archived Newsletters

Welcome back to my newsletter!
(If you missed my past newsletters you can find them here.)

It’s been a month since THE EXILES came out in paperback (a month in which, hooray and thanks to you, the book spent multiple weeks on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and Indie Next bestseller lists). I’ve done dozens of radio, print, and blog interviews, spoken with libraries and book groups, and learned to navigate the nerve-wracking world of Instagram and Facebook Live. Now, as things quiet down, I’m getting back to working on my new novel and enjoying my final month in Maine before heading back to whatever awaits in New York in September.

One of my favorite interviews was with Bill Kenower, Author2Author Blog Talk Radio, which you can listen to here. For those who couldn’t make the paperback launch event last month, below is the 3-minute video I created about the story behind the book (in which me mates, I mean kids, sing a sea shanty). Keep scrolling for a Dark & Stormy with a twist, some things I like and recommend, and two giveaways — one of which is unique to subscribers.

SOME THINGS I LIKE AND RECOMMEND:

THIS ORGANIZATION. The Authors Guild is the oldest and largest writers’ group in the United States. Their mission is to create community and fight for a living wage; they support free speech, fair contracts, and copyright protection. Plus, its members — who include novelists, nonfiction writers, journalists, historians, poets, and translators, traditionally and self-published — get free access to legal help. My friend Lynn Boulger is the new Exec Director of the AG Foundation, and I’m so happy to be involved in her efforts to advocate for working writers. Learn more here.

THIS NEWSLETTER. In his newsletter “Ordinary Plots: Meditations on Poems + Verse,” Devin Kelly analyzes poems in a big-hearted, meditative way that connects them to other poems, ideas, and philosophies (not unlike Maria Popova’s “Brain Pickings”). I always find something interesting in the connections he makes. Read samples here.

THIS OIL AND BALSAMIC. Seeking a thank-you present for the authors who participated in my paperback launch, I turned to Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars, a 12-year-old, female-owned, year-round Bar Harbor, Maine business. The owner, Nancy O’Brien, imports extra virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars from all over the world and collaborates with local and regional vineyards, restaurants, chefs, and caterers. Her recommended pairing this month: Amfissa-Kalamon EVOO from Greece and Traditional Balsamic – all you need for the perfect summer salad. Pro tip: get the $5 metal pour spouts. (And shipping is free!) Learn more, here.

THIS TV SERIES: “Hacks,” on HBO, about an aging female comedy star and a smart-mouthed young L.A. writer brought in to punch up her act. The chemistry between Jean Smart, who plays comedian Deborah Vance, and Hannah Einbinder, as Ava, reminds me of the peppery give-and-take between Vivian and Molly in my 2013 novel ORPHAN TRAIN. (In fact, now that the producers who optioned that novel for film are pivoting to TV, I can’t imagine a better actress to play Vivian than Jean Smart. What do you think?)

THIS … SKIRT-LIKE GARMENT. I’m not a fan of the word “skort” [shudder], but on daily summer hikes with my sisters, nothing compares to the comfort and ease. It’s breathable and cotton-soft, with a no-roll waistband. I have it in four colors. Way better (and cheaper!) than the Athleta and Lululemon ones at the bottom of my drawer. I first found it at Costco but recently discovered it (argh, where else?) on Amazon for $25.

THIS COCKTAIL. In my last newsletter I shared my take on a Dark & Stormy. This time, watch former bartender Paula McLain (author of THE PARIS WIFE) concoct her signature twist on the classic, a Dark & Mysterious. She’s the expert and I’m just in the way, but we had loads of fun. Yum!

THIS SONG. My son Will Kline, lead singer in the NYC-based rock band Faces for Radio, released his own first single this month, “Anywhere with You,” which he wrote during Covid when all he wanted to do was get out and explore. Available on Spotify here. (Watch a Maine-themed TikTok Will made for the song, here.)

AND TWO GIVEAWAYS:

Book Club Girl is giving one lucky winner all 21 titles (!) on their “best historical novels of 2021” list, including THE EXILES. The sweepstakes runs through August 22nd. Click here to enter.

As a thank you to my newsletter readers, I’m hosting an exclusive giveaway. Enter to win a signed and personalized first edition of my first novel, SWEET WATER, by clicking here. The giveaway closes Monday, August 16th, at 12pm EST.

When her grandfather dies, Cassie Simon, a starving artist living in New York City, is willed a house and sixty acres in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Taking this as a sign, she moves to the town where her mother died in mysterious circumstances when Cassie was three — and she begins to uncover a tangle of family secrets that have been kept for nearly twenty five years.

Thanks for reading this far. I’d love to know what you think! Please feel free to drop me a line at bakerklinebooks@gmail.com.

Photo Credit: Beowulf Sheehan

Welcome to THE EXILES Paperback Launch Newsletter!

Above is a sneak peek of an ad that will run in the New York Times next weekend. When we were brainstorming cover ideas for the paperback, I sent my editor this still from the 2011 film Wuthering Heights that, to my eye, captured the intensity and wildness of life as a convict maid in 19th-century Australia. Because of copyright issues we couldn’t use the image, but I think the painter they hired evoked the feeling I was after. What do you think?

In case you missed the last newsletter, on Wednesday, July 7th at 7pm ET I’m doing a one hour-long variety show hosted by John Searles (HELP FOR THE HAUNTED), featuring
Elin Hilderbrand (GOLDEN GIRL), Chris Bohjalian (HOUR OF THE WITCH), Paula McLain (WHEN THE STARS GO DARK), and Kristin Hannah (THE FOUR WINDS). It also includes a short video about the research that went into this novel about 19th-century convict women – and bonus, my kids sing an Australian sea shanty⚓️.

In order to attend, just order your paperback copy of THE EXILES from one of the hyperlinked bookstores on my website here and they’ll send you a link.

New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Indie Next Pick
Real Simple “Best of the Year”
Kirkus Reviews “Best of the Year”

July ’21: Target Book Club Pick-of-the-Month, Book Club Girl “Book of the Month,” Costco Connection “Buyer’s Pick of the Month,” Hudson News featured title

What else would I be reading (and re-reading) this week than new novels by these incredible authors? Each is a delight – from Elin’s sun-soaked, addictive beach read to Chris’s tense and riveting historical drama to Paula’s atmospheric literary thriller to Kristin’s epic journey of survival set in the era of the Dust Bowl. (I’ve pre-ordered event host John Searles’ new novel of suspense, HER LAST AFFAIR, coming 3/22.) Though very different from each other, these books are all written by novelists at the top of their form. It’s a thrill to get to talk to them about my novel — and theirs!

WHAT I’M DRINKING. For my paperback launch event I’ll be sipping a Dark and Stormy – because, let’s face it, female prisoners on the convict ships to Australia faced many a dark and stormy night! Here’s the story behind the drink:

British naval officers brewed ginger beer as a home remedy to combat seasickness. When a group of them were stationed in Bermuda after World War I, they mixed ginger beer with aged black rum from a local distillery. One sailor, looking at the swirl of ginger beer and rum in his glass, said that it looked like “the color of a cloud only a fool or a dead man would sail under.” And hence the Dark and Stormy was born.

Sip with me during the event or enjoy it as you read the novel!

Ingredients
2 oz. dark rum
3 oz. ginger beer
1/2 oz. lime juice (optional)

Directions
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Add rum.
Pour in ginger beer and lime juice.
Stir with a spoon.
Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy!

BONUS. Some photos from my research trips to Australia.

From the upper left, clockwise: 1) With Dr. Alison Alexander, who has written and edited nearly three dozen books on Australian history (and is herself descended from convicts). An invaluable resource for THE EXILES, she became a true friend — recommending texts, introducing me to experts, answering questions, reading my manuscript, and even feeding me in her home in Tasmania. I highly recommend her entertaining and informative books; 2) A window at a 19th-century prison in Hobart, Tasmania, now a museum; 3) Communing with kangaroos at a nature preserve; 4) Chatting with historical re-enactors at the Cascades Female Factory in Tasmania; 5) A kitchen at Runnymede in Tasmania, much like the one Hazel would’ve worked in at the Franklins’ home.

Thanks for reading this far. I’d love to know what you think! Please feel free to drop me a line at bakerklinebooks@gmail.com.

Welcome to Newsletter #2!
(If you missed my first newsletter, you can find it here.)

We’re doing something a little crazy for the paperback launch of THE EXILES on Tuesday, July 7th at 7 pm ET. Instead of a dozen events spread out over weeks, I’m doing one big event: an hour-long variety show co-sponsored by more than 40 independent bookstores around the country.

Hosted by the funny and brilliant John Searles, the show will feature 🌟 author friends Elin Hilderbrand (GOLDEN GIRL), Chris Bohjalian (HOUR OF THE WITCH), Paula McLain (WHEN THE STARS GO DARK), and Kristin Hannah (THE FOUR WINDS), as well as a a trailer scored by my film-composer son Hayden Kline and a short video about the research that went into this novel about 19th-century convict women. Bonus, my kids sing an Australian sea shanty⚓️.

Join us by clicking here. I promise the hour will fly. Registration includes a signed paperback of THE EXILES.

Also: I’m delighted to announce that THE EXILES is the Maine Public Radio “All Books Considered” Book Club Pick for June and July. I’ll be talking about my novel with Maine Calling host Cindy Han in a virtual event on Thursday, July 29 at 7 pm ET. Registration is free. Sign up here.

I’m hosting a Facebook giveaway with the above authors – enter to win all six novels by visiting this page. Giveaway closes July 2 at 12pm ET.

Goodreads asked me to annotate some of your favorite passages from ORPHAN TRAIN, so I did! Read here and feel free to ask me follow up questions on Goodreads.

Meanwhile, these are some things that sustained, delighted, and engaged me this month:

WHAT I’M EATING. My sister Clara Baker Lester is Associate Producer on a show called Greenlight Maine that highlights racially diverse businesses and their importance to the state economy. After watching an episode about Mumbai native Cherie Scott and her company, MumbaitoMaine, I ordered her sauces online. So good! Before and after below (using tips and recipe ideas from Mumbai to Maine on Instagram and Facebook).😋

WHAT I’M READING. New Editorial Director Josh Bodwell at Godine is publishing some of the most interesting literary fiction and nonfiction around these days. In addition to Meredith Hall’s BENEFICENCE (which I enthused about in my first newsletter) and a timely reissue of Monica Wood’s ERNIE’S ARK, Godine has just published Simon Van Booy’s NIGHT CAME WITH MANY STARS. I read this novel — which begins in 1933, when a Kentucky man loses his 13-year-old daughter in a game of cards — in a headlong rush, unable to break free of its spell. Beautiful as an old bruise, plain-spoken as a prayer, NIGHT CAME WITH MANY STARS rings hard and true with the poetry of real life.

WHAT I’M WEARING. My sisters and I are obsessed with these wildly comfortable and versatile slip-ons, Danish designer Ilse Jacobsen’s Tulip shoes. Among us, we probably have all the colors. They remind me of the plimpsolls I used to wear to primary school in England 👟🎨

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO. Lorde’s dreamy, hypnotic Solar Power. Because summer!

BONUS. My dear friend Alice Elliott Dark’s long-awaited new novel, FELLOWSHIP POINT — her first in more than 20 years — is coming out in February of ’22, and I was lucky to snag (and blurb!) an advance copy. Reader, I loved it. Intricately constructed, utterly unique, this novel about three women on the coast of Maine is filled with insights about writing, about the perils and freedoms of aging, about the great mysteries, as well as the pleasures, of life. Put it on your to-read list for next winter.🌲❄

Thanks for reading this far. I’d love to know what you think! Please feel free to drop me a line at bakerklinebooks@gmail.com.

Welcome to my first (and, I promise, occasional!) newsletter.

I’ve been reluctant to send one, imagining the onslaught of email you must get. I hope you like it! If you do, please pass it along – and if you don’t, it’s easy to unsubscribe. You’ll hear more from me toward the end of the month as I gear up for the paperback launch of THE EXILES on July 6, but after that I’ll only reach out now and then.

In this space I’ll be talking about things that sustain, motivate, and inspire me, with sporadic news about my books, classes, and talks. Here’s some news: on Tuesday, July 7th, 7-8 pm, I’m doing a virtual event for THE EXILES with independent booksellers across the U.S., featuring author friends Elin Hilderbrand (GOLDEN GIRL), Chris Bohjalian (HOUR OF THE WITCH), Paula McLain (WHEN THE STARS GO DARK), and Kristin Hannah (THE FOUR WINDS), hosted by the funny and brilliant John Searles. (Bonus, my kids sing an Australian sea shanty⚓️.) Registration for the event includes a signed paperback of THE EXILES. More info to come in a few weeks.

Also, Goodreads is hosting a giveaway of 100 paperback copies of THE EXILES. Enter here.

This first issue of the newsletter is dedicated to a place I love: MAINE. I grew up in Bangor and eventually bought a home in Mount Desert Island; five of my eight novels are set, at least in part, within a 45-mile radius.

I’ve also written articles and essays about this place (a bunch of which are gathered here), including one for the New York Times in which I describe how my parents, sisters, and I – and our families – ended up with houses in the same small coastal village. And though my husband, David, and I usually live in NYC in the off-season, we’ve been hunkered down in Southwest Harbor for the past 16 months with my sisters and their families. While it was a strange and calamitous time, we took solace in the quiet of this place. We cooked a lot and read dozens of books and hiked across frozen lakes. Our sons came and went and came again. Eventually we all got vaccinated and are finally starting, like many of you, to venture into the wider world. But this year has changed us, and even as we resume some of the pleasures of our old life, we’ll no doubt be eating out less, reading more, and thinking differently about how we spend our time and energy.

Here are hyperlinks to six Maine-related things I use, enjoy, and recommend:

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON’S DAILY UPDATE. This Maine-based historian and social critic kept me sane during the election season and beyond with her reasoned, lucid, and well-documented Substack newsletter about the state of the Union. If you haven’t discovered her yet, you’re in for a treat. Either she lives like a vampire or she doesn’t sleep; her newsletter usually lands in my inbox after 2 a.m. I’ve developed a Pavlovian response to it, waking in the early hours to read it and falling back asleep (which I don’t recommend but can’t seem to stop!).

THIS LOBSTER RISOTTO. It’s easy and delicious, with only a few ingredients, and takes 45 minutes to make, start to finish. Pro tip: if you don’t happen to have 6 cups of lobster stock in your fridge, Better than Bouillon lobster base is a fine substitute. Add peas or asparagus for color and flavor.

THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. I’ve never written a blurb by accident before, but after I read Meredith Hall’s new novel, BENEFICENCE, I sent an email to her editor telling him how much I loved it, and he asked if he could add my words to the paperback, coming in October. This novel, set in Maine, is about a family reeling from grief and finding a way through. In its granular attention to detail and soaring larger themes—not to mention its setting and subject matter—it reminds me of two of my favorite contemporary novels, Jane Hamilton’s A MAP OF THE WORLD and Jane Smiley’s A THOUSAND ACRES. It’s epic and heartbreaking and beautifully written, and I can’t recommend it more highly.

THIS DELIGHTFUL SERIES. Erin French was a single mother fighting addiction when she moved back to her small hometown of Freedom, Maine (population 772) and opened a small restaurant called The Lost Kitchen, relying on local farmers and employing a hardy band of women with no experience. Now a worldwide dining destination (with impossible-to-get reservations! Believe me, I’ve tried), this restaurant is the subject of a six-episode series on Discovery+ that focuses on Erin’s innovative food as well as her challenges, stumbles, and victories. I also recommend her new memoir, FINDING FREEDOM: A Cook’s Story Remaking a Life From Scratch. (Incidentally, the book has been optioned by Bruna Papandrea of Made Up Stories, the same production company that optioned THE EXILES.)

CLOTHES TO HIKE AND LOUNGE IN. Granted, these aren’t from Maine. But ever since I bought these Vuori sweatpants and hoodie (on the recommendation of Zibby Owens) I’ve been wearing them on morning hikes in Acadia National Park with my sisters – and, it must be said, a lot of other times too. They’re lightweight, buttery soft, and worth every penny.

THIS GORGEOUS POEM. Though Maine Poet Laureate Stuart Kestenbaum’s Holding the Light was published in his 2013 collection ONLY NOW, it speaks to life during Covid. I found it a beacon of hope in a dark time. It still gives me chills every time I read it.

Gather up whatever is
glittering in the gutter,
whatever has tumbled
in the waves or fallen
in flames out of the sky,

for it’s not only our
hearts that are broken,
but the heart
of the world as well.
Stitch it back together.

Make a place where
the day speaks to the night
and the earth speaks to the sky.
Whether we created God
or God created us

it all comes down to this:
In our imperfect world
we are meant to repair
and stitch together
what beauty there is, stitch it

with compassion and wire.
See how everything
we have made gathers
the light inside itself
and overflows? A blessing.

Thanks for reading this far. I’d love to know what you think! Please feel free to drop me a line at bakerklinebooks@gmail.com.

Read my first and most recent newsletter, here, for a sense of what you’re signing up for. If you enjoy it I hope you’ll sign up!

Archived Newsletters

Read Archived Newsletters

Follow on Substack

Connect with Christina

Read my first and most recent newsletter, here, for a sense of what you’re signing up for. If you enjoy it I hope you’ll sign up!

Archived Newsletters

Newsletter Signup

Read Archived Newsletters

Follow on Substack

Connect with Christina