Author: Mandy Webster

Amanda L. Webster is the author of If You Didn't See It Coming, One Bad Cat, Demons of the Night, DIY High, Valley of the Bees, and F-ing Freddy Fisher. She is also a writing teacher who lives part-time in a sorority house.
Essays

Why shopping local this season matters more than ever #BlackFriday #SmallBusinessSaturday

Mandy Webster

There’s something grounding about wandering through a local market this time of year — the scents of handmade candles and soaps, the sound of live music, and the tables stacked with handmade goods and books you won’t find in chain stores. It’s a reminder that real people, not algorithms, make and sell the things we love.

Crowds, chaos, and checkout lines—Black Friday madness is in full swing. This holiday season, consider the impact of where you shop.

As prices rise and global supply chains feel the strain of new tariffs, it’s worth thinking about where your money goes. Local artisans, authors, and small-business owners may have inventory they stocked before costs increased, meaning your purchases support both your community and your own budget. I stocked up my pop-up book and gift shop earlier this year and haven’t had to raise my prices yet — a small act of foresight that’s keeping things affordable for my local shoppers.

Continue reading “Why shopping local this season matters more than ever #BlackFriday #SmallBusinessSaturday” →
Essays

Thankful for stories: how books anchor us during the holidays

Mandy Webster

As the holidays approach, our lives often feel packed with family obligations, travel, and the endless bustle of preparation. It’s easy to get swept up in the chaos, but there’s a quiet refuge I return to every year: stories. Books have a way of anchoring us, even during the busiest, most stressful times, offering both comfort and connection.

Some of my favorite stories are those I’ve heard around the dinner table with family and friends!

I’m grateful for the ways reading bridges generations—like the book you lent your sister, or the series your grandma read to you as a child, which she also read to your father and that you eventually shared with your own kids. Stories create shared experiences across time, connecting us in ways that linger long after the last page is turned.

Continue reading “Thankful for stories: how books anchor us during the holidays” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

All Eyes on Him by Iliana Xander: A guilty-pleasure thriller that keeps you guessing

Mandy Webster

Sometimes you just want a book that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go—and All Eyes on Him by Iliana Xander fits that bill perfectly. Fast-paced, twisty, and just self-aware enough to wink at its own melodrama, it’s the kind of guilty-pleasure read that lets you forget the world going to hell outside your door for a few hours.

Get your copy of All Eyes on Him from my independent online bookstore today!

The setup is pure cat-and-mouse thriller gold. Natalie’s best friend is found unconscious after leaving a club with a stranger—who turns out to be none other than the nation’s newly crowned “Man of the Year.” While the media fawns over his charm and money, Natalie suspects he’s hiding something far darker. Determined to uncover the truth, she infiltrates his mansion as a housekeeper, but soon realizes she might be the one being hunted.

Continue reading “All Eyes on Him by Iliana Xander: A guilty-pleasure thriller that keeps you guessing” →
Author Interview

Interviewing Louise Phillips about her new novel, Nina, and the stories that shape us

Mandy Webster

Stories leave fingerprints on every writer, and Louise Phillips carries an especially vivid map of influences, obsessions, and lived experience into her newest novel, Nina. In our conversation, Phillips reflects on the early books that cracked open her curiosity about human nature, the quiet discipline of early-morning writing sessions, and the pull toward ordinary people navigating extraordinary pressures. She also shares the surprising rituals behind her writing space, the challenges that have sharpened her craft, and what she most hopes readers hold close after turning the final page of Nina.

Louise Phillips’ latest novel, Nina, released November 18, 2025.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Growing up, finances were always challenging at home, which meant my reading material comprised of secondhand books or borrowing books from the library. It also meant from an early age I was introduced to an eclectic mix of material, which looking back was a great way to be exposed to literature. I was certainly a fan of the Enid Blyton books, especially the Famous Five or the Secret Seven, however, a little later, other books stood out. Lord of the Flies by William Golding, for one. My young mind learnt a lot about human nature in between those pages.

Continue reading “Interviewing Louise Phillips about her new novel, Nina, and the stories that shape us” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino: A darkly funny exploration of obsession, envy, and the American Dream

Mandy Webster

The first thing you need to know about Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino is that it’s about far more than real estate. Yes, the book follows 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake as she becomes dangerously fixated on buying the perfect house in an impossibly competitive Washington, DC housing market—but Kashino turns what could have been a simple story about bidding wars into a biting, darkly funny character study of ambition and envy. The novel releases November 25, 2025.

Get your copy of Best Offer Wins from my independent online bookstore today!

After losing out on eleven homes, Margo learns about a property that hasn’t yet hit the market—a charming house in the exact neighborhood she’s been dreaming of. It’s got everything she’s ever wanted, right down to the tire swing in the backyard. That tire swing isn’t just decor; it’s a symbol of everything Margo has been chasing since childhood. As a kid, she watched other families—more stable, more put-together, more normal—and believed that owning a home like theirs would finally make her feel whole. Now, as an adult, she’s convinced that the right house will fix her strained marriage, her stalled plans to have a baby, and her crumbling sense of self-worth.

Continue reading “Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino: A darkly funny exploration of obsession, envy, and the American Dream” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

One Small Mistake by Dandy Smith: A dark, addictive tale of ambition, manipulation, and the lies we tell ourselves

Mandy Webster

How far would you go to make your dreams come true? That’s the haunting question at the heart of One Small Mistake by Dandy Smith, a psychological thriller that pulls no punches in its exploration of obsession, abuse, and the dangerous allure of ambition. Set to release November 25, 2025, this gripping novel follows Elodie Fray, an aspiring author who quits her job to chase her dream of literary success—and ends up caught in a web of manipulation spun by a man who knows exactly how to pick his prey.

Get your copy of One Small Mistake from my independent online bookstore today!

At first glance, Elodie’s story might sound like a familiar tale of envy and rivalry—she’s the overlooked sister, forever in the shadow of Ada, who seems to have it all. But Smith skillfully turns the narrative inside out, showing how ambition and vulnerability can intersect in terrifying ways. As Elodie’s world begins to unravel, it becomes clear that she isn’t the architect of her own downfall—she’s the victim of a master manipulator.

Continue reading “One Small Mistake by Dandy Smith: A dark, addictive tale of ambition, manipulation, and the lies we tell ourselves” →
Essays

Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud

Mandy Webster

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and connection, but for many of us, they also bring a whirlwind of obligations: family gatherings, travel, shopping, cooking, and endless to-do lists. Amid the chaos, finding time to write, read, or simply pause can feel impossible. Yet even during the busiest season of the year, it’s possible to carve out moments for creativity and reflection—if you approach it with intention and compassion.

Amid the holiday bustle, it’s important to carve out a moment for yourself to write and reflect—even when life around you is loud.
  • Set smaller, achievable goals: When life is hectic, long writing sessions or ambitious reading lists can feel overwhelming. Break your projects into smaller, manageable chunks. Write for twenty minutes in the morning, read a chapter before bed, or jot down ideas in a notebook while sipping your coffee. Small, consistent efforts often add up more than you realize—and they keep your creative momentum alive.
Continue reading “Writing (and reading) through the holiday chaos: finding focus when life gets loud” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex explores how trauma shapes who we become

Mandy Webster

The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex isn’t a fast-paced thriller—it’s a quietly devastating exploration of trauma, memory, and how early wounds can echo through a lifetime. Stonex’s latest novel begins with a startling line—“The week I shot a man clean through the head began like any other”—but what follows is less a story of vengeance than a study of how people are shaped by pain and circumstance.

Get your copy of The Sunshine Man from my independent online bookstore today!

When Birdie Keller learns that Jimmy Maguire, the man who killed her sister eighteen years earlier, has been released from prison, she sets out for London to confront him. What she finds is not closure, but a confrontation with the ghosts of her past.

Continue reading “The Sunshine Man by Emma Stonex explores how trauma shapes who we become” →
Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan: A brilliantly constructed thriller about power, secrets, and rivalry

Mandy Webster

From the very first chapter of The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan, I was hooked. What begins with the discovery of Eleanor Bruton’s body on a frigid Scottish shore quickly spirals into an intricately woven mystery of rival secret societies, centuries-old manuscripts, and the dangerous pursuit of knowledge and power. This is one of those rare novels that manages to be both an intelligent thriller and a deeply thematic exploration of women’s ambition, rivalry, and connection.

Get your copy of The Burning Library from my independent online bookstore today!

The story alternates between Dr. Anya Brown, a rising academic star recruited by a shadowy group of scholars in St. Andrews, and Detective Constable Clio Spicer, who’s quietly investigating Eleanor’s suspicious death. What unfolds is a dark academic thriller that stretches across generations and ideologies. Macmillan deftly layers each clue and character revelation, creating a sense of elegant complexity that never tips into confusion.

Continue reading “The Burning Library by Gilly Macmillan: A brilliantly constructed thriller about power, secrets, and rivalry” →
Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions: Mother Monster/Father Fiend

Mandy Webster

Elderfly Press is now accepting submissions for Mother Monster/Father Fiend, a new anthology exploring the shadowed edges of parenthood. We’re looking for short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and black-and-white artwork that reveal the monstrous, misunderstood, or mythic aspects of motherhood and fatherhood.

This anthology invites you to challenge the cultural scripts of what a “good” parent looks like. Sometimes the monster is real—a parent whose choices hurt, haunt, or unravel the lives of those in their care. Other times, the monster is only a mask placed by society:

Continue reading “Call for Submissions: Mother Monster/Father Fiend” →