Patricia Engel, better known to her friends as Patty, is one of the most accomplished writers to date with her debut novel Vida, a collection of short stories.  Vida was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a New York Times Editors Choice, amongst a long laundry list of other awards. The book is not only beautifully written on the inside, but I LOVE the cover in the English version (top image) + the French version (bottom image).

I met Patty when we were 18 and attending NYU, sharing most of the same classes including a creative writing class, which i believe was her start to stardom, while it led me to business school.  From those days, we both left NYC for Miami (she will tell you I followed her down to Miami), and started our careers...hers started by signing a two book deal with Grove Atlantic.  Vida not only is a best seller, but a feature film is in development for the book. Bravo to Patty on her first book...and look out for her second novel due out in 2013, my sources :-) say that it's a love story set in Paris.