Tag Archives: book reading

Chasing the Case

The First Read

On Saturday, I was at the Worthington Library to give the first reading of my new mystery, Chasing the Case. It’s only fitting since my family and I lived in the Western Mass. hilltown of Worthington for 25 years. That town and the ones around it inspired the setting for Chasing the Case and most of my adult fiction.

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Photo by Christine Charnosky

For me it was a bit of a homecoming. After all when I was a Worthington resident, I spent countless hours at the library with my kids.

I knew almost everybody who came Saturday. Many I hadn’t seen in 12 years or longer — before I moved to New Mexico. People bought books, including a novel I released last year, The Sweet Spot.

Yeah, it was a great feeling.

I read three excerpts: the very start of the novel;  a scene at the Rooster Bar and Grille; and a peek at the Old Farts, the gossipy men in the backroom of the general store. Then I opened it up to questions and discussion. It was an attentive audience.

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Photo by Christine Charnosky

And when I mentioned its sequel, Redneck’s Revenge is due out in September, they were happy for my return.

Can you go home again? Sure you can. I just did.

ABOUT THE PHOTOS: Thanks to Christine Charnosky, the editor of the Country Journal, for these and other photos she took at the event. In the one above, I sign a book for Ed Shanahan, who was the editor in chief of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, when I was a rookie reporter covering the town of Worthington.

FACEBOOK LAUNCH: Join me for a different launch, this one on Facebook. It’s Friday, May 18, 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Discussion will run for two hours. There will be contests with prizes. Want your name to be used for a suspect in the third sequel? I will keep everything open for 24 hours so people on the other side of the planet can join. https://www.facebook.com/events/164518200901454/

ORDER: Didn’t make to the reading? Here’s how you can get your own copy: http://mybook.to/chasingthecase

NEXT READING: I will be at Boswell’s Books on Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. The store is in Shelburne Falls, my new home in Western Mass.

 

 

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Chasing the Case, hilltowns

Revealing a Mystery

As I write this piece, the official launch for my mystery, Chasing the Case, will happen in seven days on May 18. Yowza!

On that day, the book, the first in the Isabel Long series, will be available on Kindle. If you pre-ordered, your copy will pop into your electronic device. Paperbacks have been available for a while. Also, there will be a celebratory event on Facebook that Chasing the Case cover copyall can join and win prizes.

For the past few months, I’ve been sharing bits and pieces about Chasing the Case. I have had the great support of fellow authors who have hosted posts on their blogs. (Thank you so much.) That will continue into the future.

And I have two appearances. The first is May 12 at the Worthington Library, 4 p.m. if you live nearby. On May 23, I will read at Boswell’s Books, 6:30 p.m. in Shelburne Falls. Both are in Western Mass., where this mystery series is set.

At the Worthington event, I plan to read from my book and take questions. Ha. I bet a couple will ask how much of the town of Conwell in Chasing the Case is actually Worthington.

That’s only natural.

My family and I lived in Worthington for 25 years or so. It was my first beat when I became a rookie reporter. And although Chasing the Case is strictly fiction, Worthington and the other hilltowns around it, certainly have inspired most of my adult fiction.

Right now, I am pondering the passages I will read Saturday. As a friend asked, how do you share parts of a mystery without giving it away? Good question. And that’s what I will ponder today as I prepare although I know for sure I will read a portion of the chapter introducing the Old Farts, a group of gossipy old men who hold court in the backroom of a general store. I wrote about them in my last post.

Here’s an audio excerpt.

Thank you to those who have ordered or pre-ordered copies of Chasing the Case. I appreciate your support. Here’s the link for those who are interested: http://mybook.to/chasingthecase

And for old friends from the hilltowns, I hope to see you in Worthington for the reading.

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: The Worthington Library by Ed Pelletier.

 

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books, Peace Love and You Know What, reading

Peace, Love, and The Beatles on the Bassoon

I have a reading of my novel Peace, Love, and You Know What scheduled Saturday, Sept. 17 at one of my favorite bookstores Brodsky Bookshop. If you happen to be in Taos, it starts 4 p.m. Of course, it’s free.

Besides reading about the hippies from the fictional Westbridge State College, I have invited Andrew Heinrich to play a few Beatles songs on the bassoon.

Andrew studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and New England Conservatory. He typically plays classical music on the bassoon but agreed to add The Beatles to his repertoire for the reading. I left the choices up to him.

And, yes, there will be brownies, sans the ingredient the character Lenora used in the ones she baked in the book. After all, pot ain’t legal in New Mexico.

Copies of the book will be available to purchase.

So, what’s the novel about? Tim and his roommates, Manny, Mack and the nervous poet Joey, plan a three-day graduation bash at their slummy college apartment. At the top of their invite list is Lenora, their queen, who is graduating and splitting for Europe. (Tim, who is a few credits short, is faking his graduation.) Tim and Lenora have been tight friends for four years and he figures this party might be his last chance with her.

The three-day bash is a big hit for every hippie freak — including the rival Roach Motel Tribe — and dirty professor at Westbridge State College. You name it, they do it. Tim does get his chance with Lenora, but so do two others. And graduation manages to go off almost without a hitch.

For the next few years, Lenora lives in a commune while Tim stumbles on a path toward adulthood and perhaps that elusive happiness.

I am grateful to Rick Smith at Brodsky for the opportunity to read from my novel. Brodsky is a small store crammed with books, mostly used but some new, especially from local authors like myself.

The bookshop goes on largely because Smith makes it an experience to visit and buy books. He has a wealth of knowledge about Taos and tells good stories. Then, there is Willy, the shop cat.

Finding something good to read, whether it is old or new, is a serendipitous experience at Brodsky. Here is a story I wrote for The Taos News about the shop. Brodsky story Taos News

I am getting ready for the reading by choosing a few good sections. Oh, yeah, I gotta bake those brownies.

If you live or are visiting in Taos, I hope to see you there.

Here’s the link to Amazon for Peace, Love, and You Know What: Peace etc. on Amazon

 

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