Iraq War veteran Sam Blackman with his prosthetic leg and his no-nonsense private eye partner Nakayla Robertson love their investigations which always carry a thread from the past–and they love each other. An interracial couple in the new South, the Asheville, NC, pair has surrounded themselves with a terrific support team including an unorthodox lawyer and a veteran cop. They deploy humor both to bind them together and to deflect insults. Plus, it helps deal with the tragedies their work uncovers.

Such a tragedy interrupts a meeting between the PIs and the neighboring law office when a body is unearthed from the grounds of the nearby Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. During the Cold War it monitored developing space programs. Today it plays a vital role gathering weather and climate data. The body has been in the ground a long time. Why would its discovery spark off a new murder in Asheville’s mountain music scene, the victim found amid the garbage of dark, dank Rat Alley?

She was the fiancée of the man murdered long ago. But surely this case is more than a domestic drama playing out over time….

The Blackman Agency Investigations excel at merging past and present, bringing little-known history to light, and are perfect for fans of James Lee Burke, Stephen Mack Jones, Margaret Maron, and Robert B. Parker.

Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He’s a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he’s a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

The Friends of Fairview Library welcome Robin Russell Gaiser, author of ‘Open for Lunch’, on Tuesday, January 7th at 7pm.

In her book, Gaiser writes of her encounters with a dozen strangers in casual lunch spots from upstate New York to Asheville, North Carolina. She began these encounters almost by chance when she invited someone in line with her at a Subway restaurant to share her table. But as she pursued such encounters over the years, she gradually became “the reporter reporting on myself. Soon the stunning stories of my lunch mates took me deeply into my own narrative.”

Please join us for this lively discussion. Books can be signed and purchased at the event.

Refreshments to be served after by the Friends of Fairview Library.

In the spirit of You Are a Badass and The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, a helpful and humorous guide to shedding our anxious habits and building a more solid sense of self in our increasingly anxiety-inducing world.
Licensed therapist and mental health writer Dr. Kathleen Smith offers a smart, practical antidote to our anxiety-ridden times. Everything Isn’t Terrible is an informative and practical guide — featuring a healthy dose of humor — for people who want to become beacons of calmness in their families, at work, and in our anxious world. Everything Isn’t Terrible will inspire you to confront your anxious self, take charge of your anxiety, and increase your own capacity to choose how you respond to it. Comprised of short chapters containing anecdotal examples from Smith’s work with her clients, in addition to engaging, actionable exercises for readers, Everything Isn’t Terrible will give anyone suffering from anxiety all the tools they need to finally…calm…down.
Ultimately, living a calmer, less anxious life — one that isn’t terrible — is possible, and with this book, you’ll learn how to do it.

Kathleen Smith is a licensed therapist and mental health writer who lives in Washington, DC. She has written for popular publications such as Slate, Salon, New York Magazine, Lifehacker, Bustle, and Counseling Today, among many others. She is an associate faculty member at the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family and hosts the show Family Matters, a production of the University of the District of Columbia. She will be in conversation with Joanne O’Sullivan, author of Between Two Skies.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

Join Andrew Clark, Eric Nelson, Meagan Smith Lucas, and Benjamin Cutler, as they celebrate the launch of Clark’s book, Jesus in the Trailer. They will be joined by event MC, Lockie Hunter.

Jesus in the Trailer is an intimate and sobering look at the South, at faith, at youth and aging. Clark’s poems are as tangible as red clay, with an appreciation for the rustic and reverence for time. From start to finish, this is a truly captivating collection. You’ll return to it again and again. ~Ariel Felton, writer and editor in Savannah, Georgia

This is a work about moths, Savannah, teeth, Prince, lipstick, churches, tombstones and everything in between. This is a poetry book that will take you places you don’t expect, with precise language. This is an author at the top of his talent, in beautiful form. This is a book for you. For us. Thank you, Andrew. ~Marcus Amaker, award-winning graphic designer and Poet Laureate of Charleston, SC

Andrew K. Clark is a writer and poet whose work has appeared recently in Out of Anonymity–The UCLA Writing Project, Good Juju, Zingara, and NO:1, Number One journals. He is the recipient of the Georgia Southern University Roy F. Powell Creative Writing Award. He grew up in the small town of Alexander, North Carolina, outside of Asheville, where he now resides. An excerpt from his forthcoming novel, The Day Thief, was selected to appear in the Blue Mountain Review in March 2019.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs returns with a hotly anticipated new book in the blockbuster series, “Miss Peregrines Peculiar Children.” The new arc of the Miss Peregrine series launched readers into the previously unexplored world of American peculiars, one bursting with new questions, new allies, and new adversaries. Now, with enemies behind him and the unknown ahead, Jacob Portmans story continues as he takes a brave leap forward into The Conference of the Birds.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY and make sure to provide an email address where you can receive reminders and updates from Brown Paper Tickets’ automated system.

There will be a TIERED TICKETING SYSTEM for this event, with three available options:

*GOLD TICKETS SOLD OUT: GOLD TICKETS will be issued to the FIRST 20 people to purchase tickets to this event. These tickets include a copy of THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS. Gold ticket holders are invited to a special meet and greet with author Ransom Riggs, and will receive a swag bag, have access to the activity stations, the event, and first priority in the signing line. (Gold ticket holders admitted at 5:40 p.m. for meet & greet.)

*SILVER TICKET holders gain access to the activity stations, receive a swag item, and are admitted to the event with second priority in the signing line. Silver tickets also include a copy of THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS. (Activities for Gold/Silver ticket holders start at 6:00 p.m.)

BRONZE TICKETS are free and do not include a copy of the book. Bronze tickets are for admission to the author presentation and third priority in the signing line. (Doors open at 6:30 for general admission.)

The past decade has been one of the most racially turbulent periods in the modern era, as the complicated breakthrough of the Obama presidency gave way to the racially charged campaigning and eventual governing of Donald Trump. Keepin’ It Real presents a wide-ranging group of essays that take on key aspects of the current landscape surrounding racial issues in America, including the place of the Obamas, the rise of the alt-right and White nationalism, Donald Trump, Colin Kaepernick and the backlash against his protests, Black Lives Matter, sexual politics in the black community, and much more.
America’s racial problems aren’t going away any time soon. Keepin’ It Real will serve as a marker of the arguments we’re having right now, and an argument for the changes we need to make to become the better nation we’ve long imagined ourselves to be.

Elwood David Watson is professor of history, African American studies, and gender studies at East Tennessee State University.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

Meet and greet at 6pm, Pondering starts at 6:30.

Please enter the church through the front door. There is ample parking on the street in front of the church. There will be a $2 per person offering for the use of the church facilities and I think this is very fair. This is in addition to any donation you may wish to give for the expenses of the meetup itself. Feel free to bring any reasonable food or drink for yourself or to share.

RSVPs go live every Friday at 5pm.

Fans of Pat Conroy will enjoy John Russell’s long-awaited second novel, a rich, multi-generational story of money and morals, power and race, sex and sanity, set in a changing America.
Jack Callahan is an outsider in his adopted hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. A successful lawyer, he’s spent years trying to move in all the right circles. But with his literary mother in a sanitarium, his society marriage on the rocks, and his biggest client–Raleigh’s family-owned newspaper the Criterion–facing a hostile takeover, he’s beginning to wonder if it’s really worth it.
Step by step readers are drawn into the “non-secret secrets” of an elite that wields power founded on intricate manners and unsolved crimes. Jack’s mentor, World War II hero Hugh Symmes, is haunted by family misdeeds during the Wilmington Massacre of 1898. His client, Ward Forrest, third-generation newspaper heir, portions out liberal duty against riches amassed during the Jim Crow past. His friend, African-American judge Kai-Jana Blount, weighs the call to higher office against deals with men her civil rights crusading family had opposed.
Together they face a threat from Wall Street raider Victor Broman, Jack’s former client, who is hell-bent to acquire the Criterion for shadowy patrons. Jack tries his best to “do the hero-ing”–but questions the costs. Eventually, he takes counsel from his friend Lowry, a mysterious Native American mystic, who unveils a different path, away from all the right circles.

John Russell is the author of the award-winning novel Favorite Sons, which the New York Times heralded as “…a novel of ideas sweeping grandly through more than 40 years of Southern history.” A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he was educated at the University of North Carolina, Columbia University, and Harvard Law School. He and his wife divide their time between North Carolina and Mexico.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.

Caroline Christopoulos and Lauren Harr of Gold Leaf Literary Services, LLC will hold an informational session for authors on best practices for working with bookstores to create a mutually beneficial relationship. They will discuss publishing options and how they affect bookstore relationships, ways to help boost sales, making the most of author events, and more. Christopoulos and Harr have decades of experience in the book industry and have taught courses for authors through the Great Smokies Writing Program, Flatiron Writers Room, and NC Writer’s Network. More on Gold Leaf Literary at www.goldleafliterary.com. This event is free, but does require registration. The deadline to register is January 15th. To register, email [email protected] with the subject: Malaprop’s session.

E. Patrick Johnson’s Honeypot opens with the fictional trickster character Miss B. barging into the home of Dr. EPJ, informing him that he has been chosen to collect and share the stories of her people. With little explanation, she whisks the reluctant Dr. EPJ away to the women-only world of Hymen, where she serves as his tour guide as he bears witness to the real-life stories of queer Black women throughout the American South. The women he meets come from all walks of life and recount their experiences on topics ranging from coming out and falling in love to mother/daughter relationships, religion, and political activism. As Dr. EPJ hears these stories, he must grapple with his privilege as a man and as an academic, and in the process he gains insights into patriarchy, class, sex, gender, and the challenges these women face. Combining oral history with magical realism and poetry, Honeypot is an engaging and moving book that reveals the complexity of identity while offering a creative method for scholarship to represent the lives of other people in a rich and dynamic way.

E. Patrick Johnson is Carlos Montezuma Professor of Performance Studies and African American Studies at Northwestern University and the author and editor of several books, most recently No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Theory, also published by Duke University Press.

This event is free and open to the public. We ask that you purchase the books you want to be signed at our events from Malaprop’s. When you do this you are not only supporting the work it takes to run an events program, you are also telling the publishers that they should keep sending authors here. Can’t make it to the store for the event? Call us or order the book on our website in advance, and we’ll get it signed for you. Make sure you write your preferences in the comments if you purchase online.