AMY STEWART Monday, September 14th, 7:00 p.m., Amy Stewart's new novel Girl Waits With Gun, follows Constance Kopp, who doesn't quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family - and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared. Girl Waits with Gun is a September IndieNext pick. Amy Stewart is the author of six other books, including the bestseller The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks. Girl Waits with Gun is her first novel. Stewart is originally from Texas. She currently lives in California, where she has a poison plant garden and is the co-owner of an antiquarian bookstore. In the spirit (so to speak) of The Drunken Botanist, the event will feature samples of "The New Jersey Automobile," a signature cocktail created by Amy Stewart. ALEXANDER ROSENBERG Wednesday, September 16, 7:00 p.m. In The Girl From Krakow, Rita Feuerstahl goes to the university in Krakow in 1935, but life has other things in store-marriage, a love affair, a child, all in the shadows of the oncoming war. When the war arrives, Rita is armed with a secret so enormous that it could cost the Allies everything, even as it gives her the will to live. She must find a way both to keep her secret and to survive amid the chaos of Europe at war. Alexander Rosenberg is a professor of philosophy at Duke. He is the author of several books on the philosophy of science, some touching on economics and religion. His last book was The Atheist's Guide to Reality. The Girl from Krakow is his first novel. NINA DE GRAMONT Thursday, September 17, 7:00 p.m. When Charlie is found murdered, his wife Brett is devastated. But, if she is honest with herself, their marriage had been hanging by a thread for quite some time. Though all clues point to Charlie's brother Eli, with his history of mental illness, any number of people might have committed the crime. Charlie Moss was a handsome, charismatic man who unwittingly damaged almost every life he touched. Brett is determined to understand how such a tragedy could have happened--and whether she was somehow complicit. In The Last September, award-winning author Nina de Gramont is at the top of her game as she takes readers inside the psyche of a woman facing down the meaning of love and loyalty. Brilliant rendering of love story, murder mystery, pitch-perfect study of horrific ordinary mental illness, and that rare coming-of-age novel that deals with adults who actually do come of age in the most difficult ways. Nina de Gramont is the author of the story collection "Of Cats and Men", which was a Book Sense selection and won a Discovery Award from the New England Booksellers Association. Her first novel, "Gossip of the Starlings"was also a Book Sense pick. She is the coeditor of an anthology called "Choice" and the author of several young adult novels. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington YA BOOK CLUB Friday, September 18, 6:00 p.m. Come one, come all to the greatest book club of all! Do you love YA? Are you interested in discussing or starting to read YA? The we'd love to have you! This is a book club for all ages, the only requirement is that you are interested in the young adult genre. (This is to discuss the book alone, not a writer's group). Hosted by Isabel of Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews. Snacks will be provided. This month we'll be reading My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris. RICK BRAGG Saturday, September 19, 7:00 p.m. The Regulator welcomes a return appearance from Rick Bragg, who will read from and discuss his new book, My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South. Keenly observed and written with his insightful and deadpan sense of humor, My Southern Journey explores enduring Southern truths about home, place, spirit, table, and the regions' varied geographies. Everything is explored, from regional obsessions from college football and fishing, to mayonnaise and spoonbread, to the simple beauty of a fish on the hook. Collected from over a decade of his writing, with many never-before-published essays written specifically for this edition, My Southern Journey is an entertaining and engaging read, especially for Southerners (or feel Southern at heart) and anyone who appreciates great writing. Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Bragg is the author of numerous books, including All Over But the Shoutin' He writes a regular column for Southern Living magazine and teaches at the University of Alabama. MATTHEW GUINN Monday, September 21, 7:00 p.m. The Scribe, follows detective Thomas Canby who is called back to the city on the eve of Atlanta's 1881 International Cotton Exposition to partner with Atlanta's first African American police officer, Cyrus Underwood. The case they're assigned is chilling: a serial murderer who seems to be violently targeting Atlanta's wealthiest black entrepreneurs. The killer's method is both strange and unusually gruesome. On each victim's mutilated body is inscribed a letter of the alphabet, beginning with "M." The oligarchy of Atlanta's most prominent white businessmen--the same men who ran Canby out of town, known more openly before Reconstruction as "the Ring"--is anxious to solve the murders before they lose the money they've invested in both the exposition and the city's industrialization, even if resolution comes at the expense of justice. Guinn will be in the store for a reading and signing. Matthew Guinn, formerly an instructor of English at the University of Mississippi, has published articles on southern literature in "Southern Quarterly", "South Atlantic Review", and "Resources for American Literary Study". Learn more on these and all of our upcoming events |