Plum Creek Library System offers Wrapped in Reading Author Tour in February

The libraries of the Plum Creek Library System will be offering “Wrapped in Reading Author Tour”, a series of four virtual programs throughout February. The program will feature well-known regional authors writers including Jeanne Cooney, Lorna Landvik, Chad Lewis, and Brian Freeman.

“Throughout the winter months our libraries celebrate reading with the Winter Reading Program,” Program Coordinator Rebecca Hudson says. “We are featuring some of our library patrons’ favorite authors and are fortunate to be able to offer them free of charge,” she says, adding, “From mystery to humor, psychological suspense to ghostly tales, there will be something for everybody.”

Made possible through the funding of the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, the programs may be accessed from the comfort of your home, or in group gatherings at your local Plum Creek library.

Kicking off the series on February 7, will be mystery writer Jeanne Cooney, author of the popular Hot Dish Heaven mystery series: Hot Dish Heaven, A Second Helping of Murder and Recipes, and A Potluck of Murder and Recipes, all published by North Star Press. Her new series, kicked off in March 2022 with the release of It’s Murder, Dontcha Know. Cooney’s off-beat mystery books have been featured on television and radio as well as in newspapers and magazines throughout the region and Minnesota Public Radio named Cooney one of a handful of Minnesota-based mysteries authors to read.

Next, on February 14, will be novelist Lorna Landvik. Landvik is the author of ten books, including the best-selling Patty Jane’s House of Curl, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Oh My Stars, and Best to Laugh. Landvik is currently working on two novels, one of which is a sequel to her first book.

Landvik’s checkered (but legal) past includes working as a chambermaid in Bavaria, winning a trip to Tahiti as a contestant on ‘$25,000 Pyramid’ (MacGyver was her partner), temping at the Playboy Mansion (it was strictly a clerical position) and walking across the country as a member of The Great Peace March. She has acted in many theatrical productions, including a half dozen shows she conveniently wrote for herself. Her all-improvised show, “Part in the Rec Room” is a local legend, due in no small part to the margaritas she mixes up onstage.

Paranormal researcher and author Chad Lewis will be appearing on February 21. For over 25 years Chad Lewis has traveled the back roads of the world in search of the strange and unusual. From tracking vampires in Transylvania and chasing the Chupacabras in Puerto Rico searching for the elusive monster in Loch Ness, and pursuing ghosts in Ireland’s castles. He brings over 18 years of research experience to his presentations.

Lewis has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s A Haunting, William Shatner’s Weird or What, ABC’s Scariest Places on Earth, and Monsters and Mysteries in America along with being a frequent contributor on Ripley’s Believe it or Not Radio. With a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Chad has authored over 25 books on the supernatural, including the Road Guide to Haunted Locations book series.

Rounding out the author tour on February 28 will be psychological mystery thriller writer Brian Freeman, who is particularly known for the “you are there” sense of place in his novels. From dead-of-winter Minnesota to the tropical storms of Florida, he scouts real-life locales for all of his books and brings to life dramatic settings such as Duluth, San Francisco, Tampa, Las Vegas, and Door County, Wisconsin.

Freeman’s novel, Spilled Blood, won the award for Best hardcover in the annual Thriller Awards, and his novel, The Burying Place, was a finalist for the same award. His novel, The Deep, Deep Snow was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original. He has also been named by Putnam and the Robert Ludlum estate as the official author to continue Ludlum’s famous Jason Bourne franchise. Brian’s first Bourne novel, The Bourne Evolution, was named one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2020 by Kirkus.

Pre-registration is required for each of the free programs by visiting this link:  https://events.zoom.us/ev/AlqaUW3YhZkBFY8Hnpe_aZ3DwI1WpuE8HtA5kYntQZUJt75_w6dl~AggLXsr32QYFjq8BlYLZ5I06Dg?lmt=1673638617000&utm_source=email, and those interested in attending any of the programs should visit your local library for more information.