Since I often put my blog posts on Facebook, one of my FB friends, Una King, requested I tell more about the book reading event I attended yesterday at Bay Books in San Ramon.
Paula Chinick introduced herself and the other three authors who would be reading. Jordan Bernal explained how she became interested in dragons when she received a dragon statue from her mother for a gift. The white dragon sat on the table along with a dragon egg and Grayson, the wingless dragon (my favorite) in Jordan’s book, The Keepers of Eire. Set in present day Ireland, Christian Riley, one of the protagonists, is haunted by vivid dreams of four dragon riders’ deaths. The other main character is Devan Fraser who stumbles into the mystery of the murders. She joins Christian in journeying to learn about secrets, truth, honor, and loyalty.
Elaine Schmitz entertained us with her tales of Yaya Despina from her book, Recipes & Recollections of My Greek-American Family. Elaine offered a printout recipe for “Angela’s Fig Jam” and showed some of the artful photos in the book that her husband took of the cooked food.
Paula Chinick read the first chapter in her book Red Asscher, Living in Fear. The novel is set in 1943. The protagonist is Anya Pavlovitch, a Russian Expatriate who works for the U.S. War Department. She and Mac, a Naval Intelligence officer, are sent to Japanese occupied Shanghai. The head of Shanghai’s opium trade kidnaps Mac, and Anya must find the courage to rescue him. Paula’s book is the first in a three book series, the second novel will be available in 2016.
Mary E. Heaton read a chapter in her book, Rambling Through the Emerald Isle. The memoir is about Mary and her daughter traveling through Ireland for twelve days. The humor in Mary’s experience driving on the left side of the road brought laughter several times from the attendees. The search for their ancestors led them to a sixth-century monastery.