Discover Local Authors During Quarantine!
When all of us are stuck at home, it's a great time to cozy up on the couch with a good book, especially one written by a local author who you can support during this difficult time! Featured below are authors from Northwest CT and their favorite book(s) they've written.
1. Elizabeth Barone - Watertown
"The pandemic hasn't affected my actual writing much; I always become socially distant when writing a new book. It definitely upset my release schedule, though.
It's a good time to be a creator; people are looking for entertainment while stuck at home. Once I was feeling up to it, I wrote some free short pieces for fans of my River Reapers MC series. It was a way to bring new readers into the series, and a little something extra for longtime fans. We're very fortunate to have the technology we have. We can get really creative."
Elizabeth's most recent release, A Risky Prospect, part of the River Reapers MC series, follows "social worker Olivia, who has been through her own personal hell and come out the other side, tattered but determined to make things better in her corrupt town. Her roommate's current situation is the perfect place to start. When ex-con Cliff's wild ol' lady Olivia comes to him and the River Reapers for help, he's on board. His vigilante motorcycle club can get the job done, and it'll help convince Olivia to take the next step in their relationship. But when Olivia's traumatic past walks through the club's doors, there's no stopping her from doing whatever it takes to settle her own score. Even if it means crossing a line that Cliff might not be able to pull her back from."
See More of & Purchase Elizabeth's Works Here
Follow Elizabeth on Instagram
2. Jack Sheedy - Harwinton
"COVID-19 has forced everyone to change their way of creating and promoting art. I would love to do a packed-house book launch and meet with readers, share wine and cheese, read from my books, sell a few, and make new friends. The packed house is out of the question, but Zoom events are a good new way of 'gathering.'"
Jack recently published a collection of essay's titled, "Magical Acts in Two Suitcases," which is available to pre-order at House of Books and Amazon. Below is the opening of an essay titled "Opening the Cereal":
"When was the last time you struggled with a cereal box? I don’t mean the sensible kind, where you open the flap on the top, pull apart the foil and pour. I mean the kind with a semi-circular perforation near the top of the narrow end. 'Press Here,' it says. Maybe my thumb is weak, but I’m just not strong enough to break the perforation. Last week I crumpled three boxes of cereal beyond recognition before I gave in and grabbed a steak knife. 'What’s all that rattling out there?' my wife called. 'Nuttin’, honey,' I said."
Visit Jack's Website Here
Pre-order "Magical Acts in Two Suitcases" Here
3. Jacque Lynn - Cornwall
"My children's book, Space Matters, will be published in October. While I hope we will no longer be in quarantine, the concept might still be relevant as this year has demonstrated two examples of why space matters: social distancing and the importance of a pause."
Space Matters
raises multiple thinking points for children; "C
an empty space be useful? Can it lead to new perspectives and new appreciation? Might it even be inspiring? Find out in a winsome book that draws on a child’s everyday experiences to prompt readers to look twice at their surroundings and notice the significance of sights, sounds, and spaces otherwise taken for granted."
Purchase "Space Matters" Here
Follow Jacque on Instagram
4. Lonnie Carter - Falls Village
"COVID-19 has lost me two jobs. I was about to begin doing Press for Music Mountain when the season was cancelled,
I was also about to do freelance for Scholastic Publishers when the work was cancelled."
Lonnie's play, The Romance of Magno Rubio, "focuses on Magno Rubio, an illiterate Filipino farmer and his pen-pal courtship with Clarabelle, a white woman from Arkansas who advertises in the back pages of a “lonely hearts” magazine. Believing he's found the woman of his dreams, Magno fantasizes about their life together, only to soon realize that reality and dreams do not always align."
Visit Lonnie's Website Here
See More of Lonnie's Works Here
Be sure to check out and support these wonderful authors from NWCT!