Wednesday, September 27, Knicely Center
Reading a page-turning mystery you don’t want to put down is a treat unto itself, but getting the behind-the-scenes story of its development straight from the lips of its celebrated author is beyond what many readers typically have the opportunity to experience! Warren County Public Library has a rich tradition of bringing best-selling authors to the community, and that continues with another visit by a legend in the industry who’ll be here the end of this month.
J.A. Jance will be at the Knicely Conference Center Wednesday, September 27, at 6pm. Audience members will get to enjoy a presentation by the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 60 works of contemporary mystery. A book signing will follow.
Jance’s series titles feature several popular characters, including J.P. Beaumont, Joanna Brady, and Ali Reynolds. Additionally, she has penned six interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family and one volume of poetry. At this presentation, which is part of her national book tour, she will discuss her latest novel, Blessing of the Lost Girls: A Brady and Walker Novel. Free tickets to the event are available on the library’s website (http://warrenpl.org/event/jance). While we love having events at our library locations, we really look forward to being able to provide ample parking spaces for all our attendees at this one!
A prolific author, Jance has averaged writing 1.5 books each year for the past four decades. Her novels’ strong characters and engaging plot developments have been factors in her books regularly topping New York Times and USA Today best-seller lists. One of the most prominent authors of thrillers and mysteries, J.A. Jance is both a prolific author and masterful storyteller.
Jance’s most popular series is the J.P. Beaumont one featuring a Seattle homicide detective. The critically-acclaimed series started with Until Proven Guilty, the book that put her on the crime fiction map, and continued its run with 24 more novels of suspense.
Joanna Brady is another well-loved mystery series, this one set in Arizona. This latest novel, which she’ll discuss at the presentation, falls at number 20 of the cycle. Its main character is a gritty, courageous protagonist, who has continued her husband’s work as sheriff following his death at the hand of drug dealers in book one. In this newest title, Brady follows a trail of serial murders in the Southwest, where she works to catch an elusive criminal.
Ali Reynolds is a high-stakes thriller series about a former TV journalist who returns to her Arizona hometown following the death of a childhood friend. After launching a blog to work through the loss of her career, she begins receiving threats that put her life on the line. There are 17 books in the series.
There are five Walker Family Mysteries, suspense thrillers featuring ex-sheriff Brandon Walker and his family, a character who also appears in Jance’s latest novel. An interesting aspect about titles in this series (and others) is the overlap of memorable characters, another characteristic of her writing that keeps readers engaged.
A former teacher and school librarian, Jance was born in South Dakota and raised in Arizona. She lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington. For more details about her writing career and journey, make plans to attend her presentation. For more details about her work and to access her online blog, visit JAJance.com. If you are unable to access tickets online (http://warrenpl.org/event/jance), call the library at 270-781-4882; we’ll be happy to assist!
Additional Author Presentations @ WCPL
WCPL will begin hosting author visits on Sunday afternoons in the months to come, and the first takes place the second weekend of this month. Here’s what’s upcoming:
• Sunday, September 10, 3pm – Rea Frey will be at the Bob Kirby Branch to discuss her latest novel, The Other Year. Frey is the award-winning author of several bestselling suspense novels. She is a Silver Falchion Awards Finalist, was voted Chicago Reader’s Best Nonfiction Writer, is a Book Pipeline film adaptation winner, and has been featured in US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Popsugar, Hello Sunshine, Marie Claire, Shape, Hello Giggles, CrimeReads, Writer’s Digest, WGN, Fox News, Today in Nashville, and Talk of the Town. For free tickets, visit warrenpl.org/event/rea-frey. To learn more about the author, visit reafrey.com.
• Sunday, October 29, 3pm – Hope Gibbs will be at the Bob Kirby Branch to discuss her novel Where the Grass Grows Blue. This debut novel was named an International Book Awards Finalist for Best New Fiction this year and was featured in Kirkus reviews, who said, “The author crafts a complex will-they, won’t-they romantic dynamic that delves into the importance of confronting personal demons and the irony of finding yourself in the place you tried to leave behind.” Visit the author’s website to learn more about her. For free tickets, go to warrenpl.org/event/hope-gibbs.
-by Ashley Fowlkes
