Continuing their 'Tales'
Three of the five previous authors to be featured in "A Tale for
Three Counties" have new novels scheduled to be released between
now and June. The other two, are working on their next novel.
Daily News Lifestyles Editor Ben Beagle recently checked in with the
past authors. Here's an update:
Chapter 1: March 27-29, 2003
THE AUTHOR: Leif Enger of Atkin, Minn.
THE BOOK: Peace Like a River.
THE STORY: An adult Ruben Land recalls a turbulent few months in his
family's life that began when his older brother, Davy, is accused of
murder for shooting two neighborhood bullies.
SECOND NOVEL: Enger's follow-up to "Peace, "So Brave, Young
and
Handsome" (Atlantic Monthly Press), is due in May. "I'm glad
to finally get another book out," Enger says, acknowledging a couple
of false starts before "finally settling on this character that
appeared to me sort of out of the mist." "So Brave ..."
is a story of redemption, love and a chase, as an old train robber is
confronted by his conscience and tries to reconcile with the wife he
left decades ago. But when he comes out of hiding, his old nemesis -
a character based on a real-life Pinkerton detective - is in pursuit.
GONE HOLLYWOOD: A film adaptation of Peace Like a River remains in
production.
Chapter 2: March 26-28, 2004
THE AUTHOR: Howard Frank Mosher of Irasburg, Vt.
THE BOOK: Northern Borders.
THE STORY: A coming-of-age tale set in rural Vermont in the 1940s finds
an adult Austen Kittredge taking a nostalgic look back at a childhood
spent on his grandparents farm in fictional Kingdom County.
RETURN TO KINGDOM COUNTY: Mosher went back to Kingdom County for his
most recent novel, "On Kingdom Mountain," which was published
in July
2007. It introduces readers to Miss Jane Hubbell Kinneson, the last
remaining resident of a wild mountain on the U.S.-Canadian border. She's
trying to stop a proposed highway and finds another adventure when a
mysterious aviator crashes on the frozen lake at the foot of her mountain,
bringing with him a riddle containing clues to the whereabouts of stolen
Civil War-era gold.
RETURN TO GENESEE COUNTY: In October, the author returned to Richmond
Memorial Library, Batavia, to talk about his latest book and introduce
the 2008 Tale selection. Earlier in the summer, Mosher was in Buffalo
and Brockport as part of a summer book tour that made more than 100
stops in 100 days.
NEW PROJECTS: Mosher is at work on a non-fiction book about last
summer’s marathon book tour.The non-fiction travel memoir, “The
Great American Book Tour,” chronicles Mosher’s 100-city
book tour to promote his latest novel, "On
Kingdom Mountain." It will also include some Northeast Kingdom
memoir
material from his life in northern Vermont interspersed throughout the
book.
Mosher’s Civil War novel, “Walking to Gatlinburg”
is expected to be
published in early 2009.
UP NEXT: "Walking to Gatlinburg" focuses on Morgan Kinneson,
Miss Jane Kinneson's father. It is the story of Morgan's trip from Vermont
to the Civil War ravaged South to track down and eliminate six psychopaths
who have been killing conductors of the Underground Railroad, including
his parents.
Chapter 3: March 10-12, 2005
THE AUTHOR: Julia Spencer-Fleming of Buxton, Maine.
THE BOOK: In the Bleak Midwinter. THE STORY: Spencer-Fleming's debut
novel introduces readers to Clare Fergusson, a well-intentioned Episcopal
priest and former Army helicopter pilot, who moves to the fictional
Adirondack town of Millers
Kill. When a baby is discovered abandoned in a church stairwell, mother
and later investigate a murder. As events unfold, Fergusson must navigate
the silence and secrets of a small town and her own delicate relationship
with the police chief.
A BIG YEAR: The fifth book in the series, "All Mortal Flesh,"
was
released in October 2006 but it was 2007 that proved to be a big year
for the author. The novel, which put Russ as the chief suspect in a
murder investigation, was nominated for best mystery in many major
awards categories. She won a Gumshore Award from Mystery Ink, a popular
online destination for mystery fans, and capped the year by winning
the
Nero Award for best mystery from The Wolfe Pack, a society of admirers
of mystery writer Nero Wolfe.
THE STORY CONTINUES: "I Shall Not Want" (St. Martin's Minotaur,
June), the sixth book in the planned seven-book series, is due finds
Russ and Clare dealing with their relationship as they investigate the
deaths of several Hispanic immigrants. Spencer-Fleming is working on
the series final book and planning a new novel set around the closing
of Maine State Prison in Thomaston, Maine. It will be her first story
set in Maine.
"After living here 20 years, I am finally able to write about Maine,"
she told the Web site www.keepMEcurrent.com, a community news site for
the greater Portland, Maine, region.
Chapter 4: March 23-25, 2006
THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Donnelly of Brooklyn
THE BOOK: A Northern Light.
THE STORY: Historical fiction story blends a real-life 1906 murder
with the coming of age story of 16-year-old Mattie Gokey working her
summer job at a resort on Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks.
'LIGHT' STILL BRIGHT: Known as "A Gathering Light" in the
United Kingdom, where it won a Carnegie Medal in 2003 for best children's
novel, Donnelly's book was among 10 finalists for 2007's Carnegie of
Carnegie. The award celebrated the 70-year history of the Carnegie Medal
(the winner was Philip Pullman's "Northern Lights," the novel
that prompted the title change of Donnelly's book.).
JUST OUT: "The Winter Rose" (Hyperion), the second book in
a planned
trilogy, reunites readers with the Finnegan family. Beginning where
"The
Tea Rose" left off on the river Thames, the new novel follows the
story
of Charlie Finnegan - now notorious East London crime loard Sid Malone
-
and a new character, the crusading woman doctor Indian Selwyn Jones
who
saves Malone's life.
WHAT'S NEXT: Donnelly is working on a new young adult novel and "The
Wild Rose," the last book of her Rose trilogy."I can't be
away from the Finnegans for too long," Donnelly says. "I miss
them and want to catch up with them, and most of all, I want to find
out what happens next."
Chapter 5: March 8 to 10, 2007
THE AUTHOR: Mark Spragg of Cody, Wyo.
THE BOOK: An Unfinished Life.
THE STORY: A woman, running with her young daughter from an abusive
relationship, tries to make amends with a bitter Wyoming rancher after
causing a car accident that killed his son and her husband.
HIGHS AND LOWS: In 2007, Spragg did a number of one-book reading
programs, including several days in Fort Collins, Colo.
One place he didn't go was Salt Lake City, Utah, where a program run
by the Salt Lake County Library System rescinded its invitation when
the system's director said a staffer "jumped the gun" by inviting
Spragg before an ad hoc committee could make the selection. The panel
decided against choosing the author because the library system promoted
his book the previous year under a reader's choice program, the director
said.
WHAT'S NEXT: "Plugging away at a new book," Spragg says. "I'd
very
much like to get the book to my editor by year's end."
As for the story, we'll have to wait and see. Spragg, like many
novelists, says he is superstitous and doesn't like to talk about a
book in progress.