Authors Archive

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Coming Soon @WNPL

New Years is a great time to make a resolution to read more. @WNPL we have lots of authors and new books to help you get started.
New this week:
I don’t know how she does it but Janet Evanovich had two books out in the past few weeks. Besides Explosive Eighteen, this week Love in a Nutshell is out. Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she’s been fired from her position as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parents’ summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene’s Harbor, Michigan. Kate’s plan is to turn The Nutshell into a Bed and Breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory. Let the fun begin!!

Jack Higgins can always be counted on for a thrilling read. In A Devil in Waiting, the President is coming to London, but not to an entirely warm welcome. A fanatical mullah is offering a blessing to anyone who will assassinate the President, and though most London Muslims think the mullah has crossed the line, a few think otherwise. Urgently, Sean Dillon, General Charles Ferguson, and the rest of the small band known as the “Prime Minister’s private army” are called in, augmented by an extraordinary new recruit, an intelligence captain and Afghan war hero named Sara Gideon. She has her own deep contacts, but the more she investigates, the more she discovers herself in a very dark place indeed. Another sure winner.

If you are looking for another thriller–look no further than John Lescroart’s The Hunter. When an anonymous tip reveals that his birth mother was murdered and her killer never identified, San Francisco private investigator Wyatt Hunt engages in a chilling cat-and-mouse game to track down the surviving members of his biological family, a case that reveals clues about a dire secret.

I am hoping that Sara Paretsky will re-schedule this summer because I am really hoping she will discuss her latest, Breakdown. When the teenage daughters of some of Chicago’s most influential families discover the body of a ritually murdered victim, investigator Warshawski explores theories that the killing is linked to a hostile media campaign against a senatorial candidate or a wealthy patriarch’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania. This sounds particularly interesting and you gotta love the Chicago setting.

For a little romance try, Moonlight in the Morning by Jude Deveraux. Leaving New York City behind for the summer to pursue her passion for painting in Edilean’s tightly knit artistic community, Jecca Layton is swept off her feet by the town’s handsome doctor and they both must make a difficult decision when the summer ends. Sounds intriguing….

Please check out our website for further novels.

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Authors-Authors-Everywhere!!

Welcome January 2012! Make sure you make your reservations soon for the wonderful variety of  authors that will be stopping by the Warren-Newport Public Library in the next few months.
First up is Charlie Newton on Saturday, January 14 at 3:00pm. Edgar-finalist Newton follows his acclaimed debut, Calumet City with a gritty and complex novel that shows the gang-infested streets of Chicago. In Start Shooting, Police officers Bobby and Ruben Vargas are implicated in a decade old murder by a series of newspaper articles. Charlie Newton is an author to follow or find for the first time. This atmospheric novel will grab you and keep you turning pages. If you enjoy thrillers with Chicago as the back-drop–Look no further!

We have a new demonstration kitchen and we are fortunate to offer a cookbook author  who will demonstrate from her new cookbook, The Treats Truck Baking Book: Cookies, Brownies & Goodies Galore!  on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:00pm. A winner of the Vendy Award for Best Dessert Vendor, Kim Ima, creator of The Treats Truck, can be found baking and dreaming up new Treats at The Treats Truck Stop but luckily you won’t have to go to New York to meet her—because she will be here!

On February 22 at 7:00pm you have the opportunity to meet two fabulous historical writers. Some of you might remember Lauren Willig when she was here for our “Cozy Library” a few years ago. Her “Pink Carnation” series is a winner with humor, historical details and a bit of romance to bind it all together. Her latest, The Garden Intrigue, continues the fight against Napoleon and his plot to invade England with wit and intrigue. Joining her, is Tasha Alexander known for her historical research and wonderful intrigue. The “Lady Emily Series” is set in the 1890s in cities across Europe and follows the adventures of a young, Victorian widow about to come out of mourning after the death of her husband. A duo that can’t miss—no matter the era!

Calling all Quilters!! Calling all Readers!! Best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini will be here on Sunday, February 26 at 2:00pm to discuss her latest novel, The Wedding Quilt. In addition to the seventeen volumes of the Elm Creek Quilts series, she is the author of four volumes of quilt patterns inspired by her novels, as well as the designer of the Elm Creek Quilts fabric lines from Red Rooster Fabrics. Weaving the patterns of lives has never been so good!

Erik Larson known as the master of narrative non-fiction, garnered praise and best-selling status with The Devil in the White City. He is returning to the Warren-Newport Public Library on Sunday, March 18 at 2:00pm. He will be discussing his latest, In the Garden of Beasts, along with writing styles and research strategies. In 1933 Berlin, Willaim Dodd becomes First Ambassador to Hitler’s Germany. This atmospheric novel will describe the tensions and beginning knowledge of Americans in Germany.

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Prince of Ravenscar by Catherine Coulter

If you like a bit of intrigue….beautiful historical locations and settings….two pretty ingenues and a couple of interesting heroes this is the book for you. Plus you get the bonus of a happy ending which is always a great way to escape during these dark and cold nights of winter. Catherine Coulter has been writing for many years and though she has become more known for her contemporary F.B.I. novels she actually started as a historical romance writer.  In Prince of Ravenscar in April 1831, her grace Corinne Monroe wants her widowed son, Lord Julian, to marry her best friend’s daughter, Miss Sophie Wilkie. Julian last saw Sophie when she was twelve years old, silent, skinny, and always staring at him. However, his mother is nothing if not persuasive, and Julian reluctantly accompanies her to London to meet the young lady. Lord Devlin Monroe, Julian’s nephew becomes involved with Sophie and her aunt Roxanne when they are invited to Julian’s home. They all become embroiled in the mystery surrounding Julian’s first wife’s death.
This is a fun novel with an interesting and witty group of characters—and the mystery isn’t too bad either.

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Libby Fischer Hellmann–Author Visit, Saturday, November 19 at 3:00pm

Libby Fischer Hellmann is a transplant from Washington, D.C., where, she says, “When you’re sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you’re talking politics.” Armed with a Master’s Degree in Film Production from New York University, and a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania, she started her career in broadcast news. She began as an assistant film editor at NBC News in New York, but moved back to DC where she worked with Robin McNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. When Watergate broke, she was re-trained as an assistant director and helped produce PBS’s night-time broadcasts of the hearings.
In 1978, Hellmann moved to Chicago (which would later be the backdrop of her novels) in order to work at Burson-Marsteller, the large public relations firm, staying until 1985 when she founded Fischer Hellmann Communications. Currently, when not writing, she conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training, and crisis communications. Additionally, Libby also writes and produces videos.

Libby is the author of 8 books including the Ellie Forman series. Her latest, Set the Night on Fire is an amazing portrait of murder, mayhem and politics of Chicago in the 60′s.

Libby will be discussing with best-selling author Sara Paretsky the art of mystery writing on Saturday, November 19th at 3:00 pm. Books will be available for purchase from the Lake Forest bookstore and she will sign.

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Russell Banks–@ Warren-Newport Public Library

Bestselling author Russell Banks will be making his first appearance at the Warren-Newport Public Library TODAYon Monday, October 17 at 7:00 pm. Born in Massachusetts, he was educated in North Carolina but currently lives in New York.  He writes mainly fiction and has been translated into 20 languages that has garnered him numerous awards. His novel, Cloudsplitter narrowly missed out on winning a Pulitzer Prize. His work highlights the every day obstacles man must work to overcome, often showing the downtrodden but enabling the  resilence of man that is available. He will discuss his latest, Lost Memory of Skin, that shows the limbo experienced by one young man after finding himself judged a convicted sex offender. Trapped by guilt and foolish impulses, the Kid, must reconsider past choices and what the future may hold. This is an uncompromising and morally complex novel that probes our society’s mores.

Books will be available from Lake Forest Bookstore and Mr. Banks will sign.

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Russell Banks at PBS News

If you are anxious to hear from Russell Banks. Take a look at the interview that PBS news recently did with him while he discussed his latest novel, Lost Memory of Skin.
Russell Banks will be at the Warren-Newport Public Library on Monday, October 17 at 7:00 pm. Books will be available for purchase from the Lake Forest bookstore and he will be signing.
Please click on the link below to listen to an interview with Russell Banks on PBS.
Russell Banks

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Author of the Week–Tom Robbins

Thomas Eugene Robbins was born July 22, 1936. An American best-selling author of semi-comic, but often poetic stories that have strong social and philosophical undercurrents. His best known novel, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, was made into a movie starring Uma Thurman.

Born in North Carolina, his family moved to Virginia where Tom graduated from Hargrove Military Academy where he won the Senior Essay Medal. He enlisted in the Air Force and spent time in Korea. He eventually graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and ended up in Seattle working on a Master’s degree at the University of Washington. He continues to live in Washington.

Robbins continues to craft his quirky and ultimately optimistic novels of the search for the meaning of life, convinced that our culture remains as materialistic, conformist, and confused as ever. He once wrote, “social action on the political/economic level is wee potatoes. Our great human adventure is the evolution of consciousness. We are in this life to enlarge the soul and light up the brain.” He has written 9 books and 1 anthology.

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Diana Gabaldon–Author of the Week

Diana Gabaldon was born in Arizona on January 11, 1952 and is the best-selling author of the Outlander series. She has a B.S. in Zoology from Northern Arizona University; M. S. in Marine Biology from University of California and a Ph.d. in Ecology from Northern Arizona University. As a full-time assistant professor in the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University in the 1980s, Gabaldon did research, was a scientific computing and database expert, and taught university classes for college credit in anatomy and other subjects. An expert in scientific computing, she was the founding editor of Science Software Quarterly, a journal for scientists that chronicled the rapid advances in hardware and software during the decade when processing power began to migrate from the mainframe to the desktop. She began writing in 1988 as an exercise to see if she could. Her main character is from an old Dr. Who series.

Her novels are difficult to classify as they have something for everyone in them—romance (Jamie and Claire), time-travel, adventure (loads!) and mystery. She has been translated into 19 languages, in 23 countries and has sold 17 million copies. They are meticulously researched which is one of the things I like about them. I learn so much about various periods of history–but this research also takes a lot of time so there are frequently long periods between books. It is best to read her stories in order as she is continually building on past characters and historical events.
1. Outlander
2. Dragonfly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An Echo in the Bone
8. Due out 2012

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Author of the Week: Alexander Kent

Alexander Kent (Douglas Edward Reeman) was born October 15, 1924 at Thames Ditton. At the age of 16 he joined the Royal Navy and served during World War II and the Korean War. Besides being an author of historical fiction set on the high seas, Reeman has taught navigation and has served as an advisor on many movies. His first novel A Prayer for the Ship was published in 1958. He is best known for his Napoleonic naval series featuring Richard Bolitho, and then later his nephew Adam.

 Author Readalikes: C. S. Forester, James Nelson, Dewey Lambdin, Patrick O’Brian

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The Last Page by Libby Fishcer Hellmann & David J. Walker

Are you lover of short stories? I must admit I prefer a novel—love the development of characters and plot, but there is something so infinitely desireable about a short story. Each word counts and the whole makes an exquisite tale. My good friend, Libby Fischer Hellmann and her friend, David Walker recently completed a novella titled The Last Page. She felt I would like it as it was set in a library and there is a murder. What’s not to like, you ask?? Absolutely nothing. The characters are well drawn and the mystery is well-plotted. When head librarian Barbara Adams is murdered at the library late one night, clues from the vast amount of records she kept begin to focus the investigation. Hopeful writer Julia picks up the trail and soon finds herself fighting for her life. This small novella packs alot into a small package.

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