Guest blogger: Author C. L. Gregoire

We at Fine Print are very excited to bring a series of posts by local authors. We have asked them to share their thoughts about their favorite book, something they've read recently, or the role reading has played in their lives. Born and raised in Colchester, Vermont, Mr. Gregoire has worked for multi-national firms in a variety of public relations, purchasing and operational capacities. He has travelled internationally and has resided in Burlington, VT; San Diego and Los Angeles, CA; Wichita, Kansas; Ogden, Utah; and Centerville, Ohio. Mr. Gregoire owns and operates a small franchise restaurant in Centerville and lives in Washington Township with his wife, two cats and a part-time dog. Death Spiral is his first novel. It is the culmination of a lifetime of wondering about and researching the possibility of extraterrestrial life.More information about Mr. Gregoire and his book are available at www.deathspiralbook.com. C.L. Gregoire will be one of the local authors at A Tasting With Friends at Benham's Grove on September 13. For more information on this event or to buy tickets, check out this page.

My love of reading started back in Colchester, Vermont, when Mrs. Baker, my fourth grade teacher, tasked us with going to the local library, finding a book, and then writing a book report. She upped the ante by suggesting we then present the book report orally in front of the class. I discovered several things about myself that year. First, the Hardy Boy mysteries fascinated me and I probably read 20-25 of their stories. I just loved the action and how brothers Frank and Joe always found a way to solve seemingly impossible problems. Second, I quickly learned how much I feared speaking in public, even if only for reading a short book report. And lastly, I like a challenge. Another boy in class also liked reading and he and I soon got into a competition to see who could read the most books. I don’t remember the finally tally, but I do remember that Joel Page beat me. That pattern continued throughout grade school --- no matter how many As I got on my report card, he always seemed to get one more!
Mrs. Baker opened my eyes to world of books. I’ve never stopped reading since her class and to this day enjoy the solitude of immersing myself in a good story. Being transported to a different time or maybe even a different world and experiencing the wonders of the author’s creation is simply great fun!

My taste in books is all over the map, even though my preferred genre is contemporary political thrillers. A list of my favorite authors would include Ayn Rand, Clive Cussler, John Grisham, Frank Peretti, Max Lucado, Whitley Strieber, C. S. Lewis and J. K. Rowling. I was particularly captivated by the Harry Potter series and went as far as reading the first book in French. Now that was truly a challenging experience since I hadn’t spoken, written or read French since my senior year in high school way back in 1970!

Guest Blogger: John B. Kachuba

We at Fine Print are very excited to bring a series of posts by local authors. We have asked them to share their thoughts about their favorite book, something they've read recently, or the role reading has played in their lives.  John Kachuba is the author of seven books, four of them about ghosts and ghosthunting. A noted speaker at universities and libraries, conferences, and on TV and radio programs, John also teaches Creative Writing at Ohio University, Antioch University Midwest, and the Gotham Writers Workshop. Dark Entry, a ghost story, is his new e-book available on Amazon.com. John’s Website is www.JohnKachuba.com John  Kachuba will be one of the local authors at A Tasting With Friends at Benham's Grove on September 13. For more information on this event or to buy tickets, check out this page.

A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life. – Henry Ward Beecher

I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without libraries; simply put, I would never have become a writer. Even as a child, libraries inspired my imagination to wander down endless mental corridors, exploring rooms of wonder that I never knew existed. Igniting my curiosity, fueling my burgeoning passion for new words and new worlds, libraries have always been a necessary part of my life.

While libraries nurtured me as a writer they still play an important role in my writing life. Yes, they remain a source of research for me but they also have become a way for me to connect directly with my readers. Writers rarely get the chance to meet and speak to their readers but over the last several years I have given presentations about ghosts and ghost hunting—extremely popular topics these days—in over eighty libraries in my home state of Ohio, as well as in libraries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Florida. The audiences have ranged in size (the largest was 72 people, the smallest 6) but in almost every instance the sponsoring librarians have told me that the numbers in attendance exceeded their expectations.

Part of the reason for that is the subject matter itself; it seems that everyone wants to hear a good ghost story. But there is another reason, I believe. In times of economic hardship, as we are facing now, many people simply can’t afford a night out for entertainment. When the local library offers a free and interesting program—whether it be about ghosts or some other topic—people recognize a deal that just can’t be beat. Such programming is a win-win situation. Patrons are treated to an enjoyable night out while the library draws many people who might not normally come to the facility---and once there, they have the opportunity to find out about all the other programs the library offers and to realize that, oh yes, there are books and DVDs aplenty and they’re all available free!

Guest blogger: Robin Yocum

We at Fine Print are very excited to bring a series of posts by local authors. We have asked them to share their thoughts about their favorite book, something they've read recently, or the role reading has played in their lives. Robin Yocum was born in 1955 in Steubenville, Ohio, and grew up in the in the Eastern Ohio village of Brilliant, a river town that was either named after a glass factory, or because a nail factory once lit up the night sky with a brilliant light. No one seems to know for sure. Robin received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University in 1978. After two years at the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette and the Martins Ferry Times Leader, Robin spent eleven years as a crime and investigative reporter with the Columbus Dispatch. He received numerous writing awards, including those from the Associated Press and the Press Club of Ohio. His first novel, Favorite Sons, was named the 2011 USA Book News Book of the Year for Mystery/Suspense, and was a Choose to Read Ohio selection for 2013-14. will be one of the local authors at A Tasting With Friends at Benham's Grove on September 13. For more information on this event or to buy tickets, check out this page.

I receive two frequent questions from readers:  How do you get started? and  Where do you get your inspiration?
Favorite Sons had its genesis in my days as the crime beat reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. I was doing a series of stories on wrongful convictions and traveled to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville to interview Death Row inmate Johnny Spirko, who had been convicted of murdering Betty Jane Mottinger, the postmistress of tiny Elgin, Ohio. Spirko was no angel, but there were serious problems with his conviction.

Following the interview, I toured the Death Chamber, the focal point of which was Old Thunderbolt, the then-nearly 100-year-old electric chair that dominated the center of the room. Connected to the Death Chamber was a small, rectangular room, just large enough for a panel and three men. On the panel were three buttons - red, green and white. On execution days, at the superintendent’s command, three guards would volunteer to push a button, only one of which delivered the electric to the chair.

Without casting aspersions, I wondered who would volunteer for such duty.

When I sat down to write my novel, this singular act was at the center of my story, or what I refer to as the “launch point.” My original premise was to write a book about a grizzled prison guard - nicknamed “The Button Man” because he frequently volunteered to push the button at executions. He was to befriend a Death Row inmate, who he ultimately believes to be innocent.

With that in mind, I created the crime for which the Death Row inmate was to be convicted. Four chapters later, the premise of the book turned. I liked the characters I had created. They were young and trying to conceal a murder. I decided a better book would be one that focused on these boys as they dealt with life while trying to keep a terrible secret.

Guest blogger: Joanne Yeck

We at Fine Print are very excited to bring a series of posts by local authors. We have asked them to share their thoughts about their favorite book, something they've read recently, or the role reading has played in their lives. After earning her doctorate in cinema studies at the University of Southern California, Joanne Yeck taught and wrote about film history for many years.  In 1995, she followed her family roots to central Virginia where she fell head over heels in love with Buckingham County. Today, her fascination for Virginia has translated into a full-time occupation. When she is not exploring in the field, avoiding ticks and snakes, she can be found digging through dusty papers or spending endless hours reading microfilm. In between adventures, she lives in Kettering, Ohio. Joanne Yeck is the owner of Slate River Press, which published her most recent books, At a Place Called Buckingham (2011) and The Jefferson Brothers (Fall 2012). She is a Goodreads author. You can learn more about her early writings concerning motion pictures and American popular culture here. Joanne Yeck will be one of the local authors at A Tasting With Friends at Benham's Grove on September 13. For more information on this event or to buy tickets, check out this page.

A Peculiar Role Model: Mattie Ross and True Grit

A few years ago, I embarked on a little time travel, revisiting books of my youth. Some were sentimental favorites. Others shaped my thinking. Others, I suspect, weren’t fully grasped the first time around. This eclectic tour has included: Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, Anthem, Little Women, Siddhartha, Slaughterhouse Five, Main Street, The Great Gatsby, and The Razor’s Edge. Most recently, I revisited True Grit by Charles Portis. Why did I wait so long?

I was first introduced to Mattie Ross, a heroine with “true grit,” shortly after the book was published in 1968. Like Mattie, I had been shaped by a Presbyterian ethos (especially the work ethic). Like Mattie, I was about fourteen years old. But, unlike Mattie Ross, I was a product of the post-war baby boom living in oh-so-safe suburbs. Mattie, on the other hand, was a product of the fading days of the Wild West. A straight-shooter, fearless, she was a girl with a mission. She called a spade a spade. When the famous outlaw, Frank James, did not stand for a lady, she called him “trash” to his face. She could survive anything.

This marvelous book fell out of print, only to be resurrected in the 21st century, with a wonderful afterword by Donna Tartt, who also narrated the audio book (2006). Tartt’s reading is perfection. Here’s hoping that both Portis’ book and Tartt’s reading remain available for generations to come. If this were the world of Farenheit 451 (a title yet to be revisited), I would memorize True Grit. It’s that funny. It’s that real. And, like every good western hero, Mattie Ross is true to her code to the end. I aspire to do the same.

And the RITA goes too. . .

This year the RITA awards were awarded on July 28th  in Anaheim California. A RITA Award of Excellence Winner is an award that recognizes outstanding published romance novels and novellas. The winners are voted the best of the best by their peers within the Romance Writers of America.

Here are the winners of the 2012 RITA Awards.

2012 RITA Winner for Paranormal Romance
Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison
Is an outstanding blend of urban fantasy and romantic suspense. Harrison uses excellent storytelling and creates amazing characters you will love. 

2012 RITA Winner for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O'Neal
A tale of strong willed women, family loyalty and choices that lead to strong emotional responses.

2012 RITA Winner for Best First Book
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
This is an action packed sensuous read and a spell binding 'who dun it' mystery.

2012 RITA Winner for Historical Romance
The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne
This is a novel that is destined to be savored and is truly a classic romance.

2012 RITA Winner for Inspirational Romance
The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller
An exquisite old world novel that transports you back to the days when men were made of iron and a woman has to be strong to survive.

2012 RITA Winner for Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure
Soldier's Last Stand by Cindy Dees
If you enjoy action, adventure and romance this book is for you!

2012 RITA Winner for Regency Historical Romance
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
A delightful historical novel with an excellent storyline. Readers are sure to fall in love with the battle of the sexes and the excellent writing style of this author.

2012 RITA Winner for Young Adult Romance
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
A young adult dystopian novel. A strong female lead born in the darkness and of course her male counterpart born in the light. If you enjoyed Hunger Games give this one a try.

2012 RITA Winner for Contemporary Series Romance
Doukakis's Apprentice by Sarah Morgan
This is a spicy romance filled with clashes of wits that lead to smoldering romance.

2012 RITA Winner for Romantic Suspense
New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb
J D Robb presents a new and intense case for Eve Dallas, which takes her back to the streets of her childhood.  Nightmares abound and only with the love and support of her husband Roarke can she survive.

Ten Thousand Saints

One of the most highly reviewed debut novels of 2011 seems to have stayed too far below the radar at the library for what it has to offer. Ten Thousand Saints is both shocking and familiar for anyone that has been a teenager, been part of a family, fell in love, or lived in the 80s. Honestly, if you’ve lived, something in this book will resonate with you. Eleanor Henderson, an assistant professor at Ithaca College, took nine years to construct this absolute gem of a book. It is one of the most honest and fair portrayals of teenage life that a reader can glean from a novel.

In the book, the untimely death of 15-year-old Teddy McNicholas serves as a catalyst for passionate change and coming of age. Though the book offers a bevy of unique characters, Teddy’s best friend, Jude, his brother, Johnny, and his ill-fated love interest, Eliza, create the protagonist army that leads the reader from Vermont to Manhattan's East Village during a pivotal point in subculture history. The lives of these young characters play out with the straight-edge movement and the AIDS crisis serving as a substantial backdrop to the generally confusing nature of growing up. Throw in a teen pregnancy, drugs, and crazy parents, then tie it all together with some great writing, and you have a poignant text that will keep you thinking long after the last page.

This book is definitely worth the time. Eleanor Henderson manages to interweave very real historic facts while simultaneously pulling the reader deep into the lives of the characters. I find it to be a thing of beauty when you walk away from a book feeling like you just lived it rather than read it.  

Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet

Catherine Friend has done it again!  About six-years-ago her book Hit By a Farm: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Barn came out.  Then this year Hit by a Farm was released on audiobook courtesy of Dog Ear Audio, high in the mountains of Colorado.
  
Here's a description of the book:
When self-confessed "urban bookworm" Catherine Friend's partner of twelve years decides she wants to fulfill her lifelong dream of owning a farm, Catherine agrees. What ensues is a  crash course in both living off and with the land that ultimately allows Catherine to help fulfill Melissa's dreams while not losing sight of her own. Hit by a Farm is a hilarious recounting of Catherine and Melissa's trials of "getting back to the land." It is also a coming-of (middle)-age story of a woman trying to cross the divide between who she is and who she wants to be, and the story of a couple who say "goodbye city life" — and learn more than they ever bargained for about love, land, and yes, sheep sex.

Now the library has the next book called Sheepish: Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet--and it does not disappoint.  Full of Friend's trademark humor, Sheepish takes us back to the farm and fills us in on what the ladies, the sheep, and the rest of the critters have been up to for the last few years. Who knew menopause, knitting, and sheep could be so entertaining? 

Try one of Ms. Friend's other books too.

And for other great books read some of these titles:

Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter

The Cow's Tale: a City Girl's Country Education by Dorothy J. Franke

Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer

Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: a Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

50 Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas

500 Acres and No Place to Hide by Susan McCorkindale

The Ritual

Didn’t I tell you to stay out of the woods? Well in Adam Nevill’s horrific The Ritual, Hutch, Phil, Dom, and Luke didn’t get the memo. It was supposed to be fun: four long-time friends from London who decide to get together for a three-day hike through the wilds of Sweden. Just the fellas, away from the wives and the kids and the troubles of civilization for a little while. Needless to say, it doesn’t take long for things to go wrong. First, Dom twists his knee, and that combined with the fact that he and Phil aren’t in hiking shape to begin with slows the men’s pace considerably. Second, because they’re not making proper time, Hutch decides that a shortcut is in order and they head off the trail and into a stretch of unmarked virgin forest. It’ll be a treat, he says. Trust me. Big mistake, guys. Because that’s where they come across the dead thing in the trees. That’s where they take shelter from the incessant rain in an abandoned house they stumble across, a place of nightmares. And that’s where they learn that yes, they’re being hunted by something big, dark, strong. And hungry. You see, in a forest seemingly as old as time itself, there are much more terrifying things than bears, but perhaps most terrifying of all are the humans who worship It. Feed It. Call It a god. The Ritual is a panic-inducing page turner, the sort of tale that with each chapter closes in around you like midnight in a graveyard. Believe me when I tell you that it’s truly disturbing, but it’s also good. Read it. I dare you.

And for the love of God, stay out of the woods!  

Ready Player One

Imagine a world thirty years from now where things have devolved.  The recession has only gotten worse, the education system has fractured, and class differences have become entrenched. Entire communities have grown from stacking mobile homes on top of each other to the height of skyscrapers, held together only by weak scaffolding. Imagine being a teenaged orphan living at the top of the stacks, having to hide your valuables so that your aunt and uncle don't pawn them for drug money. Clearly, the only way to escape this bleak reality is an obsessive knowledge of 1980s pop culture trivia. 

Not following? I probably should've mentioned that James Halliday, a legendary billionaire video game creator from Middletown, OH, died with a will that bequeaths his entire estate to the person who is able to find the "Easter egg" inside the virtual reality he created, and in which many people spend most of their time and money. The video game creator was a child of the 80s whose affinity for video games and movies of that time were well-documented. The race to beat the system and find the hidden clues is serious business in 2045.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is pure homage to 1980s geekdom. Wade, the 18-year-old protagonist and narrator is likable and sympathetic, and his virtual friends are entertaining. Cline is a clever writer, and it's easy to imagine that Halliday's obsessions and interests are his own. I'm not sure how people who didn't grown up in the 80s would relate to it, but the references to John Hughes movies were gold for me. I've never played Dungeons and Dragons, rarely played video games, and my knowledge of movies like Blade Runner has come entirely from conversations with my husband, so I'm certain there are references I missed, but I was still able to appreciate the story. If you've got an appreciation for 80s pop culture and dystopian future all wrapped in one tidy package, this is definitely the book for you.

In The Queue

The Sentinel: A Spycatcher Novel by Matthew Dunn shows the United States and Russia on the brink of war and only Will Cochrane, the master spy, can find and unmask the diabolical double agent responsible for it all. The CIA director assigns Will Cochrane a simple mission. Infiltrate the remote submarine base in eastern Russia's Avacha Bay, locate the MI6 agent operating under the code name Svelte, and decode his message-or die trying.

Will successfully locates the base but finds Svelte near death, his last words are the final clue: 'Only Sentinel can stop him'. Now it's up to Will-with the help of the top-secret joint CIA-MI6 Spartan Section-to uncover the true meaning of Svelte's message . . . and discover the identity of the legendary operative known only as Sentinel.

M.L. Stedman's The Light Between Oceans: A Novel will sweep you into a story about extraordinary characters who seek to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer; where justice for one person is another person's tragic loss.  Isabel always wanted a babe of her own, so when a boat with a dead man and an infant wash up on the shore near the lighthouse, which is miles from anywhere; she convinces her husband to allow them to raise the child as their own.  This is a mesmerizing and beautifully written novel which seduces the reader into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep her "gift from God." 


Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Antonio J. Mendez and Matt Baglio is a riveting story of top secret identities and international intrigue.  Argo tells the gripping account of the collusion between Hollywood and high-stakes espionage. This is the true story of the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis and the amazing American hostages rescue.

mem•oir/ˈmemˌwär/

One of my biggest pet peeves as a reader and as a librarian is the general jumbling together of memoir and biography. Yes, the two genres obviously relate, but you cannot carry the same expectations from one genre to the next. Biographies are a recitation of events, a sometimes emotionless rendering of a human life (yes, I generalize). However, a memoir is a vignette of a person’s life in their own words, a glimpse into the private thoughts, feelings, and events that helped to create the essence of the person. Sound good? Maybe you should jot these down…

Take for example, Townie, by Andre Dubus, III. Many of you may be familiar with Dubus’ novel, House of Sand and Fog, or maybe you’ve heard of his father, Andre Dubus, who was a short story writer and essayist. Regardless of how you know Dubus’ name, or if you don’t, I guarantee the life you’d assume he led as the son of a successful writer is far from accurate. Growing up in some of the roughest areas of Massachusetts, Dubus beautifully details his reconciliation of brawn, brains, and what it means to be a townie while he looks for the purpose of his life.

Across the pond, Jeannette Winterson delicately weaves humor into the strands of a confusing and desperate childhood in Why be happy when you could be normal?. Her honesty is brutal, her story is unique, and she is nothing less than a force of nature. It would be regrettable for anyone to miss out on her memoir. Seriously, slip her shoes on for a while and see how your life feels afterward.

The last author I’ll mention is dedicated memoirist, Mary Karr. Karr has written three memoirs over the years : The Liar’s Club, Cherry, and Lit. Each memoir details a different segment of her life beginning with her childhood in The Liar’s Club. Karr’s childhood memoir is character heavy and rich in detail. She is able to successfully show that love can still exist in chaotic, unpredictable families.

The vague descriptions of each memoir are in reverence to the writers' unique voices. Part of the enjoyment of reading memoirs is getting to experience the movement of the text as the story unfurls. All of these memoirs will leave you inspired and pondering your own journey. Perhaps you’ll even feel motivated to pen your own memoir. Besides, hiring a biographer can be expensive.