S. Forrest Nomakeo is the author of ‘The Summer Palace’ she will read an excerpt from her book at the Blue Umbrella Books later in the month. Readers will learn about the main character of the book Katia, and what her life was like in the 17th Century patriarchal society. She is very willful and the palace that she resides in seems suffocating to her. Her yearning for freedom is palpable and she experience some of it when she goes to ride horses. There she meets Wiley, who she falls in love with. The relationship doesn’t go the way they both expected. Soon Katia’s family gets involved and make things very difficult. Shirley was part of the print/production industry for nearly 3 decades. She currently resides in Western Massachusetts with her family and blogs regularly about her experiences about writing.

Margaret Moore will be at the Kedington Library, Community Centre, Arms Lane, for an event featuring her book ‘A Street of Secrets’. She brings many colorful characters to life in her book. All the characters reside on Angel Street at the East End of London. They are all part of each other’s lives and even the smallest event is noticed by every person. Some new neighbors move into the street and become the center of attention. And everyone wonders who the mysterious woman is, she stands at the corner and keeps watching everyone. Born during the war years, Margaret had to leave school at the age of 15. Later in life, she decided to pursue her education. She retired from work in 2006 and started writing. Her first book was for children and this is her first novel. She currently resides in Suffolk.

Teresa Petersen will be in attendance at the Fowley Festival of Arts in May. Her book ‘Daphne du Maurier: Looking Inward’ takes a look at the themes that are present in Daphne du Maurier’s work. Everything that du Maurier wrote contained elements of incest, the author claims. She examines all of the writings and sees what the motivation was for her to write the way she did. The arguments are clear and readers will be able to see these classic pieces of literature from a new angle. The author has researched the writings at length to find evidence of her hypothesis. From the father-daughter marriage in Rebecca to infanticide in The Progress of Julius. The signs are there to see when readers look at the du Maurier’s history and read them again.

Visit the stall hosted by Tara Ingham, author of ‘Once I Rise’, at the Gladstone Pop Con in Queensland. The event takes place in May.   Visit the realm where the victims of unjust deaths are gathered and revenants roam to help them. These revenants can travel to the real world and back. Jonathan is a revenant and he meets Jane Doe one day and he tries to find a way to help her. The biggest hurdle is that she doesn’t remember anything about her previous life and how he ended up being the victim.   He has to find a way to learn her story and find the justice that she deserves. From the age of fourteen, Tara has been writing stories and creating strange worlds.  To feed her passion, she got a degree in Creative Writing and Literature.

Author of ‘The Lost Hat (Book 1 of the Kitty Katz Club Series)’, Sarah Milne, will attend the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival in May. The first book in the series tells the story of Kitty Kat. She is off for a picnic at the Primrose Park when she comes upon a lost hat. She takes it upon herself to return the hat to its original owner. She runs into fun characters along the way. She continues on until she finds the owner and returns the hat. There are songs and dances in the book that will keep children entertained for a long time. Sarah is a multi-talented individual with a BA in Dance and Musical Theatre. The Kitty Katz Club is her original creation and it was founded in her own Performing Arts School classes. Over 600 children a week learning in the program.

Digital Pursuit continues the story of criminal Tim Ridgway, first encountered in Following Digital Footprints. Tim has now been sentenced to ten years for his credit card and identity theft crimes and is taken to HMP Dinas Bay in Wales to serve his sentence. This is another enjoyable book from David McCaddon, in which the reader can become re-acquainted with old friends from Midshire Police and follow the threads of the plot which twist and turn in a satisfying manner.

International children’s author Amanda Kehoe will visit the Rathmichael Parish Primary School in May for a book signing event. She will also read for the pupils in attendance. Her book ‘TJ and his Wheelable Chair’ carries a beautiful message for children, especially those who have disabilities. Her son Tadhg was the inspiration for her book, he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Global Development Delay in 2009. She gave up work to take care of her son. The main character of the book is TJ who is not able to walk or talk but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t enjoy playing with his friends. He listens and becomes the part of the play. The sweet story shows that having a disability is in no way a barrier to happiness. Amanda currently resides in Newbridge with her family.

J. D. Taylor, will be in attendance at the Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch, Alexandria Library for a book discussion of ‘Beauregard: Canine Warrior’. The book talk is the perfect addition to the campaign, ‘All Alexandria Reads Initiative’, which is honoring dog heroes this year. The book revolves around Beauregard, a loyal Doberman Pinscher who is both brave and intelligent. He is part of an army unit that is inside Vietnam for a mission. The dog alerts the unit of incoming danger but they don’t pay any heed to the warnings, and end up paying the price. The story shows how important military dogs are when they are performing their duties. They put their lives in danger to keep their handlers and units safe. The author has spent time in the army and that shows in his style of writing, which is authentic in every way.