Books like The Safekeep

I’m Alex Behr, a writer and musician. When I was little, I thought the Partridge Family lived in the TV set. I soon joined the Partridge Family Fan Club, entranced with the puppy-dog beauty of David Cassidy. Although he appealed to teenyboppers, he could write dark songs. Check out “I Think I Love You”: “Before I go insane, I hold my pillow to my head / … Screaming out the words I dread.” Eventually, I left David behind but continued being a fangirl of both intense musicians and fictional characters. Reading about obsessions is a vicarious pleasure that crosses genres from rock memoirs to literary fiction. 

I’m Alex Behr, a writer and musician. When I was little, I thought the Partridge Family lived in the TV set. I soon joined the Partridge Family Fan Club, entranced with the puppy-dog beauty of David Cassidy. Although he appealed to teenyboppers, he could write dark songs. Check out “I Think I Love You”: “Before I go insane, I hold my pillow to my head / … Screaming out the words I dread.” Eventually, I left David behind but continued being a fangirl of both intense musicians and fictional characters. Reading about obsessions is a vicarious pleasure that crosses genres from rock memoirs to literary fiction. 

I’m Alex Behr, a writer and musician. When I was little, I thought the Partridge Family lived in the TV set. I soon joined the Partridge Family Fan Club, entranced with the puppy-dog beauty of David Cassidy. Although he appealed to teenyboppers, he could write dark songs. Check out “I Think I Love You”: “Before I go insane, I hold my pillow to my head / … Screaming out the words I dread.” Eventually, I left David behind but continued being a fangirl of both intense musicians and fictional characters. Reading about obsessions is a vicarious pleasure that crosses genres from rock memoirs to literary fiction. 

I’m Alex Behr, a writer and musician. When I was little, I thought the Partridge Family lived in the TV set. I soon joined the Partridge Family Fan Club, entranced with the puppy-dog beauty of David Cassidy. Although he appealed to teenyboppers, he could write dark songs. Check out “I Think I Love You”: “Before I go insane, I hold my pillow to my head / … Screaming out the words I dread.” Eventually, I left David behind but continued being a fangirl of both intense musicians and fictional characters. Reading about obsessions is a vicarious pleasure that crosses genres from rock memoirs to literary fiction. 

I have always been drawn to the ocean. When I decided to start writing novels, I knew that I wanted to set them in coastal locations. I live in the Boston suburbs and spend time whenever I can at the beach. I have written books centered in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Cape Cod. I am working on a story set on the north shore of Massachusetts. I am a high school social studies teacher of twenty-four years and a parent of two teenagers. All of my writing includes cooking and the enjoyment of good food as a major focus. I hope my books make you hungry!

As a romance and rom-com writer, summer love stories are my favorite to read. We change during the summer months—our schedules are less rigorous, we get out and see the world, we can be a little reckless with our decisions because everything feels temporary, and we show the world a more relaxed side of ourselves. In cuffing season, we attach ourselves to another person to get through the cold months with a warm body by our side. Meanwhile, in summertime, we don’t feel burdened to get through it with another person. But the night swimming and salt air romance allows surprising love stories to ignite. 

As a bestselling and award-winning KidLit author of more than 100 books, I’ve been blessed to specialize in writing for kids about the amazing and inspiring legacy of African Americans. From an alphabet book for even the youngest readers to biographies with hands-on activities for middle graders and up, both nonfiction and fiction as well, these stories are my passion because many of these individuals are my personal heroes as well. I want kids to love and honor these men and women who have made a difference in our world as much as I do!

Many people are intimidated by poetry. For a big part of my life, I was too. So much of the poetry I had been exposed to was either indecipherable or irrelevant to me. Then I discovered some poems that I loved—accessible poems about subjects I related to. I started collecting poetry books, by both adult and children’s poets. Eventually, I was inspired to write poetry of my own. Today, I’m a poetry advocate, recommending my favorites to anyone who shows interest. The satisfaction I get from poetry boils down to this: When I read a good poem, I think to myself, “Wow, I didn’t know words could do that.”

I’m a novelist who was first a reader. For me, books are windows, showing the world through lenses I haven’t experienced before. In difficult moments, they’ve been lifelines, proof that I’m not alone and happy endings (at least happier) are possible. What “feels good” in a book is a quality unique to each reader. Below are stories about imperfect characters who not only survive their pasts but succeed—in unwinding from the wounds, changing aspects of themselves that no longer fit who they choose to be now, and ultimately creating happier lives. That kind of success feels great to me. I hope it might for you, too.

Friendship among three kids can be fraught, as any former kid (or current parent) knows. There’s always a chance that one member will be sidelined, and that often changes on a whim. But triangles can also be remarkably sturdy in spite or even because of the personality mix and occasional conflicts. I’ve been a member of several friendship trios, successful and not, so I’ve experienced both sides (all three sides?) of the issue. My books often feature triangular friendships because they naturally give rise to complex, personality-driven bickering, which is one of my favorite things to write.