Join us in welcoming Zibby Owens author of “BLANK” and Dara Levan author of “It Could Be Worse” for a joint book signing and discussion. Copies will be available for purchase and signing.
BLANK
BY ZIBBY OWENS
Author, podcaster, publisher, CEO, and mom of four, Zibby Owens, the powerhouse behind Zibby Media, the monthly book round-ups for Good Morning America, and creator of the hit podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time to Read, has written her first novel, BLANK, where she dives head-first into a meta-satirical story about the publishing industry, rounding it out with themes of motherhood, friendships, marriage, career, and...betrayal.
In BLANK, with picturesque L.A. as the backdrop, we follow Pippa Jones, a forty-something mom of two in her used Volvo playing chauffeur to her kids, chasing open house leads for her secretive, but hugely popular Instagram account, Zooming with her three best friends for “book club”, and longing for the days when she and her husband were intimate. But Pippa is about to encounter one of the biggest obstacles ever when she is informed that if she doesn’t deliver the follow-up to her best-selling book by the end of the week, she’ll have to return her advance (already spent!) and risk becoming a one-hit wonder. The problem? She hasn’t written a word...
Panicked, Pippa starts fielding ideas from her friends and her children, until she lands on the best one...really the only one that will work. Her book will be blank. It’s on-the-nose commentary on the publishing industry and the arbitrary nature of bestsellers. People will flock to it as a conversation starter! Use it as a journal! It’ll work, right? Well, it has to...
During the course of the week, Pippa’s agent dumps her, there’s a scare at her son’s Hebrew school, inappropriate advances are made towards her by a man in a position of power, and she has to handle all of the chaos without her husband’s help. And then she discovers a secret that the people closest to her have been keeping and her life seems to be spiraling out of control. Who can she trust? Will this book idea work? Or will she evaporate into the literary ether? Amid the chaos, readers are met with humorous, witty, dialogue and they get to peek inside the mind of a gloriously imperfect middle-aged woman who they’re left feverishly rooting for. BLANK is a breezy, funny, smart story of self-discovery and the power of believing in yourself.
About the author:
ZIBBY OWENS — like Pippa Jones — wears a lot of hats. She is the award-winning podcast host of Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books; founder and CEO of Zibby Media, which includes the publishing house Zibby Books, an online magazine, a book club, retreats, classes, and events; and is the proud owner of Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica.
Her previous books include Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, children’s book Princess Charming, and two anthologies that she edited. A frequent contributor to Good Morning America, Katie Couric Media, and other outlets, she is – most of all! – the mother of four fabulous kids ages 9 to 16 — and wife to Kyle Owens, founder of Morning Moon Productions.
Follow her on Instagram and Substack where she tells it like it is.
IT COULD BE WORSE
BY DARA LEVAN
Podcaster and storyteller Dara Levan makes her fiction debut with the inspiring story of a young mother’s awakening to the truth about her parents in It Could Be Worse (Regalo Press; March 12, 2024). Driven by a complex, relatable protagonist and written with empathy, the novel affirms the author’s faith in the human capacity for resilience, observations of how radiance emerges from our breaking points, and belief in the power of genuine friendship and unconditional love.
Mired in self-doubt and blind loyalty, Allegra Gil suspects her charmed life may be a gilded cage. In her thirties, she has a devoted husband, Benito, two loving children, a thriving practice as a mindfulness therapist, and lifelong friends. But when a surprising discovery in a piano bench reveals a shocking family secret, Allegra questions everything she thought she knew about the two people who raised her. Was it true? Did her father, Dr. Curt, a respected pediatric neurosurgeon with exacting standards, harm instead of heal? And Allegra’s mother, Roberta—how much did she know?
As the past threatens the present, Allegra plays the song of what was, what is, and what may never be in this “powerful and poignant story about letting go” (Jean Meltzer, international bestselling author of The Matzah Ball.)
Composed with the cadence of a waltz—up, up, down—through flashbacks to childhood memories in Miami and a music camp in Michigan, It Could Be Worse is a heartwarming, at times heart-wrenching, multigenerational story of a woman supported and embraced by many while shaken to the core by a few. “The gorgeous prose and raw, unflinching narrative both heal and inspire. A stunning debut.” (Samantha M. Bailey, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of Woman on the Edge)
About the author:
DARA LEVAN writes about love, loss, resilience, and how radiance emerges from our breaking points. She is the founder and host of Every Soul Has a Story, a podcast in which she interviews inspiring people from around the globe about their life journeys. Her calling to impact others through words began at the age of 12 in her hometown of North Miami Beach, Florida, when she interviewed the residents of the nursing home where her grandmother lived and wrote their stories. As an undergrad at Indiana University, Dara earned a B.A. in English and pursued a career in journalism but decided to pivot and returned to South Florida to earn her M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She established a practice as a pediatric speech-language pathologist and has edited several nonfiction books. Actively involved in her community, she is currently a board member of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation and has served on the boards of the Goodman Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Broward County and Junior Achievement of South Florida. Her greatest sources of inspiration come from her husband, two children, and finding meaning in everyday moments.
Learn more at daralevan.com.
Authors Zibby Owen and Dara Levan will be signing books purchased at the Palm Beach Book Store.
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