Mimi Bark - Designer

I worked at Penguin as an art director for the NAL imprint, where I designed a mix of hardcover book jackets and trade, mass market and e-book covers. Areas of focus included women's fiction, romance, suspense, young adult and urban fantasy.

At St. Martin's, I learned how to art direct photo shoots while also commissioning work from freelancers. I managed and designed more than 40 mass market covers per year, plus hardcover and trade paperback titles.

Beginning as an intern while I was still in college, and then as a full-time employee after graduation, I moved through three positions while learning about art direction and design from the creative director.

New Uses for Old Boyfriends (Black Dog Bay Novel)

Beth Kendrick

After growing up in privilege and marrying into money, Lila Alders has gotten used to the good life. But when her happily-ever-after implodes, Lila must return to Black Dog Bay, the tiny seaside town where she grew up. She’s desperate for a safe haven, but everything has changed over the past ten years. Her family’s fortune is gone—and her mother is in total denial. It’s up to Lila to take car... read more

After growing up in privilege and marrying into money, Lila Alders has gotten used to the good life. But when her happily-ever-after implodes, Lila must return to Black Dog Bay, the tiny seaside town where she grew up. She’s desperate for a safe haven, but everything has changed over the past ten years. Her family’s fortune is gone—and her mother is in total denial. It’s up to Lila to take car... read more

The Wishing Hill: A Novel

Holly Robinson

What if everything you knew about your life was wrong? Years ago, Juliet Clark gave up her life in California to follow the man she loved to Mexico and pursue her dream of being an artist. Now her marriage is over, and she’s alone, selling watercolors to tourists on the Puerto Vallarta boardwalk. When her brother asks her to come home to wintery New England and care for their ailing mother, a ... read more

What if everything you knew about your life was wrong? Years ago, Juliet Clark gave up her life in California to follow the man she loved to Mexico and pursue her dream of being an artist. Now her marriage is over, and she’s alone, selling watercolors to tourists on the Puerto Vallarta boardwalk. When her brother asks her to come home to wintery New England and care for their ailing mother, a ... read more

The Last Summer

Judith Kinghorn

I was almost seventeen when the spell of my childhood was broken...It was the beginning of summer and, unbeknown to any of us then, the end of a belle epoque...In July of 1914, innocent, lovely Clarissa Granville lives with her parents and three brothers in the idyllic isolation of Deyning Park, a grand English country house, where she whiles away her days enjoying house parties, country walks... read more

I was almost seventeen when the spell of my childhood was broken...It was the beginning of summer and, unbeknown to any of us then, the end of a belle epoque...In July of 1914, innocent, lovely Clarissa Granville lives with her parents and three brothers in the idyllic isolation of Deyning Park, a grand English country house, where she whiles away her days enjoying house parties, country walks... read more

The Bake-Off

Beth Kendrick

"Exceptionally entertaining and wonderfully original" (Chicago Tribune), Beth Kendrick delivers a funny story about family, self- discovery, and the pursuit of the perfect pie crust. Suburban soccer mom Amy has always wanted to stand out from the crowd. Former child prodigy Linnie just wants to fit in. The two sisters have been estranged for years, but thanks to a series of personal crises and... read more

"Exceptionally entertaining and wonderfully original" (Chicago Tribune), Beth Kendrick delivers a funny story about family, self- discovery, and the pursuit of the perfect pie crust. Suburban soccer mom Amy has always wanted to stand out from the crowd. Former child prodigy Linnie just wants to fit in. The two sisters have been estranged for years, but thanks to a series of personal crises and... read more

The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog

Jen Lancaster

One would think that with her impressive list of bestselling self-improvement memoirs Jen Lancaster would have it all together by now. One would be wrong. After all, she’s no Martha Stewart. And that’s why Jen is going to Martha up and live her life according to the advice of America’s overachieving older sister—the woman who turns lemons into lavender-infused lemonade. By immersing herself in... read more

One would think that with her impressive list of bestselling self-improvement memoirs Jen Lancaster would have it all together by now. One would be wrong. After all, she’s no Martha Stewart. And that’s why Jen is going to Martha up and live her life according to the advice of America’s overachieving older sister—the woman who turns lemons into lavender-infused lemonade. By immersing herself in... read more

Drawn Into Darkness

Nancy Springer

Darkness lies closer than you think....Liana Clymer is running away—from her divorce, from her past, from herself. Leaving behind everything she knows, she finds herself ensconced in a fuchsia-colored cottage in the swampy hinterlands of the Florida panhandle. Far from the grown sons who don’t return her calls, her only companion her dog, Liana decides to put her best foot forward and get to k... read more

Darkness lies closer than you think....Liana Clymer is running away—from her divorce, from her past, from herself. Leaving behind everything she knows, she finds herself ensconced in a fuchsia-colored cottage in the swampy hinterlands of the Florida panhandle. Far from the grown sons who don’t return her calls, her only companion her dog, Liana decides to put her best foot forward and get to k... read more

Modern Art: A Novel

Evelyn Toynton

Belle Prokoff is the last of a famous generation of painters for whom art was a secular religion—worth any amount of struggle and sacrifice for its promise of redemption. She is also the widow of Clay Madden, who revolutionized American art, became a near-mythic figure, and died in a drunken car crash. Blunt, fierce, and scornful of the world’s hypocrisy, Belle has passionately protected her h... read more

Belle Prokoff is the last of a famous generation of painters for whom art was a secular religion—worth any amount of struggle and sacrifice for its promise of redemption. She is also the widow of Clay Madden, who revolutionized American art, became a near-mythic figure, and died in a drunken car crash. Blunt, fierce, and scornful of the world’s hypocrisy, Belle has passionately protected her h... read more

The Test

John Lansing

The Test is a coming of age tale, set on Long Island in 1963, that deals with race, violence, social politics, and young love. It was a time when suburban America was about to undergo seismic societal changes. With this backdrop, a teenage boy falls in love with one of the town’s few black girls, a relationship that has repercussions leading to permanent transformations for the couple—and for ... read more

The Test is a coming of age tale, set on Long Island in 1963, that deals with race, violence, social politics, and young love. It was a time when suburban America was about to undergo seismic societal changes. With this backdrop, a teenage boy falls in love with one of the town’s few black girls, a relationship that has repercussions leading to permanent transformations for the couple—and for ... read more

Dreamwielder: The Dreamwielder Chronicles - Book One

Garrett Calcaterra

"In a world shrouded by soot and smoke, young Makarria has literally been forbidden to dream...Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian's minions discover a Dr... read more

"In a world shrouded by soot and smoke, young Makarria has literally been forbidden to dream...Legend has foretold the demise of Emperor Thedric Guderian at the hands of a sorceress with royal blood, and the Emperor has made it his legacy to stamp out all magic from the Sargothian Empire in favor of primitive coal fired smelters and steam powered machines. When Guderian's minions discover a Dr... read more

Kremlin Speak: Inside Putin's Propaganda Factory (Kindle Single)

Lukas I Alpert

If you thought Moscow's propaganda campaigns ended with the Cold War, think again. The Kremlin's efforts to influence global discourse has only grown more sophisticated with the creation of state-run, English-language broadcaster RT. Leading the charge of several increasingly polished, government-run, English language channels, RT has won fans by billing itself as a network willing to challeng... read more

If you thought Moscow's propaganda campaigns ended with the Cold War, think again. The Kremlin's efforts to influence global discourse has only grown more sophisticated with the creation of state-run, English-language broadcaster RT. Leading the charge of several increasingly polished, government-run, English language channels, RT has won fans by billing itself as a network willing to challeng... read more

Rumble Fish

S.E. Hinton

The classic YA novel RUMBLE FISH, written by celebrated novelist S.E. Hinton and immortalized by legendary film maker Francis Ford Coppola, now available as an eBook for the first time.Rusty James wants to be just like his big brother Motorcycle Boy - tough enough to be respected by everyone in the neighborhood. But Motorcycle Boy is also smart, so smart that Rusty James relies on him to bail ... read more

The classic YA novel RUMBLE FISH, written by celebrated novelist S.E. Hinton and immortalized by legendary film maker Francis Ford Coppola, now available as an eBook for the first time.Rusty James wants to be just like his big brother Motorcycle Boy - tough enough to be respected by everyone in the neighborhood. But Motorcycle Boy is also smart, so smart that Rusty James relies on him to bail ... read more

The Principles of Love

Emily Franklin

What do you really know about Love?Love’s her name, but it’s not her whole story . . .Love Bukowski is a new sophomore at Hadley Hall, the posh prep school where her father is now principal. Raised by her single dad (with more than a little help from her funky aunt Mable), almost-sixteen-year-old Love is strong willed, with a wry sense of humor—but will she fit into the world of Hadley Hall? I... read more

What do you really know about Love?Love’s her name, but it’s not her whole story . . .Love Bukowski is a new sophomore at Hadley Hall, the posh prep school where her father is now principal. Raised by her single dad (with more than a little help from her funky aunt Mable), almost-sixteen-year-old Love is strong willed, with a wry sense of humor—but will she fit into the world of Hadley Hall? I... read more

Can I Get An Amen?

Sarah Healy

When the last thing you want is the one thing you need, you've got to have a little faith....Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemp... read more

When the last thing you want is the one thing you need, you've got to have a little faith....Growing up, Ellen Carlisle was a Christian: She went to Jesus camp, downed stale Nilla Wafers at Sunday school, and never, ever played with Ouija boards. Now, years later, when infertility prevents her from giving her ambitious attorney husband a family, she finds herself on the brink of divorce, unemp... read more

Shake Down the Stars

Renee Swindle

When you’re in trouble and sinking fast, whom do you call?Piper Nelson is stuck. She can’t quite stay away from the husband she divorced. She isn’t always attentive to the high school students she teaches. And even she admits that she’s been drinking too much and seeking out unsuitable men. Piper’s mother, married to a celebrity evangelist, and her sister, who's immersed in plans to wed a prof... read more

When you’re in trouble and sinking fast, whom do you call?Piper Nelson is stuck. She can’t quite stay away from the husband she divorced. She isn’t always attentive to the high school students she teaches. And even she admits that she’s been drinking too much and seeking out unsuitable men. Piper’s mother, married to a celebrity evangelist, and her sister, who's immersed in plans to wed a prof... read more

Lala Pettibone's Act Two

Heidi Mastrogiovanni

Lala Pettibone, a forty-something widow whose outrageous antics befit women half her age, has been imagining her sexy boss, Gerard, is as smitten with her as she is with him. Enter Gerard’s fabulous girlfriend from Paris. After spending the rest of the day drinking wine straight from the bottle, Lala attends the monthly meeting of her Greenwich Village co-op, where the residents are informed t... read more

Lala Pettibone, a forty-something widow whose outrageous antics befit women half her age, has been imagining her sexy boss, Gerard, is as smitten with her as she is with him. Enter Gerard’s fabulous girlfriend from Paris. After spending the rest of the day drinking wine straight from the bottle, Lala attends the monthly meeting of her Greenwich Village co-op, where the residents are informed t... read more

A Room in Athens: A Memoir

Frances Karlen Santamaria Ms

First published in 1970, A Room in Athens is the remarkable journal of a free-spirited, young American woman abroad in Greece with her writer husband in 1964. Inspired by the sixties’ vogue for the exuberant land of Zorba and Lawrence Durrell, they seek an Aegean idyll–but their plans threaten to go awry when she learns she is pregnant. Settling in Athens, she gives birth to a boy at the count... read more

First published in 1970, A Room in Athens is the remarkable journal of a free-spirited, young American woman abroad in Greece with her writer husband in 1964. Inspired by the sixties’ vogue for the exuberant land of Zorba and Lawrence Durrell, they seek an Aegean idyll–but their plans threaten to go awry when she learns she is pregnant. Settling in Athens, she gives birth to a boy at the count... read more