From the author of Indie Next Pick Henry Hamlet's Heart

THE PAST DOES NOT DEFINE US.

Cinnamon Prince is doing just fine. She's holding down a job and taking care of her rock star father as he struggles through yet another mental health crisis and she is actually genuinely best friends with her ex, Will. She doesn't need her sister Scarlet for anything.
But when Scarlet comes home from school for the holidays, she takes the lid off everything: Cinnamon's carefully balanced friendship with Will, her growing crush on her coworker Daisy, and the mysterious disappearance decades ago of their great-aunt Sadie, who might not have been a murderer after all . . .

Author Spotlight:

Karol Ruth Silverstein

Karol Ruth Silverstein writes children’s literature and screenplays. She currently serves on the board of SCBWI-Los Angeles and is a member of the Writers Guild of America West. Originally from Philadelphia, Karol moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to attend The American Film Institute. She worked in film and TV production briefly before turning to writing full-time.

Karol’s debut young adult novel Cursed is loosely drawn from her experiences following a juvenile rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis at age 13. A true homebody, Karol is happiest while writing in her home office (generally in her PJs) but can occasionally be convinced to leave the house for karaoke nights with her kid lit writer friends (go-to jam: "Get Back" by Ludicris). She currently lives in West Hollywood with her exceptionally fluffy cats, Ninja and Boo.

Books by Karol:

  • "HEARTBREAKING!

    This memoir of the AIDS plague is a powerful reminder to those of us who miraculously lived through it—and a valuable eye-opener for younger generations who can never allow this to happen again.”

    —Sam Irvin, co-executive producer of Gods and Monsters,
    author of Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise

  • WE SPEAK THEIR NAMES

    SO THEY SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

    Before COVID-19 swept across the world, there was another pandemic. This gripping memoir recounts Lynn Curlee's life in New York and Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s, as friend after friend passed away and the LGBT+ community changed forever.
  • “. . . a poignant and raw

    examination of the AIDS crisis that highlights how much the past shapes our present. Lynn Curlee has accomplished something beautiful here—I could not put it down.”

    —Leo Rocha, journalist and GLAAD "20 under 20" honoree

  • “Heartfelt, essential reading

    about the ways the past echoes into and informs the present—The Other Pandemic deftly and personally brings to light a time and people that remain important, valued, and vital today.”

    —Rhiannon Wilde, award-winning author of Henry Hamlet's Heart and Where You Left Us

  • “Reading The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir is akin to settling in with a dear, dear friend for a long-overdue catchup. Lynn Curlee’s effortless and evocative prose is much more than a poignant account of a not-distant-past epidemic that galvanized the LGBTQ+ community. It is a deeply personal and brave story of chosen families, political deafness, and hard-fought resolve. 

    Curlee both broke my heart and mended it.”

    —Jeffrey Dale Lofton, author of Red Clay Suzie
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