DEBUTS UNLIMITED

摘要

Murder and magic, illicit love and puppy love, home-grown tragedy and the ravages of far-off war. No one topic defines a first novel, and, no, they aren't all autobiographical. Among last season's top debuts, published from August through December 2007, are Ellen Litman's cross-format The Last Chicken in America: A Novel in Stories and genre benders like Derek Nikitas's Pyres and C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands. An exception was made for Sarah Addison Allen's exceptional Garden Spells. Years ago, Allen published two small romances under a pseudonym, but since she has remade herself by choosing to work in another genre under her own name, it seemed wise to cite her current success here.