The Book Cove is in the News!!

The Book Cove is in the news. Visit these sites to see what people are saying about us!

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/realestate/09havens.html?pagewanted=2
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/15/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-pawling-ny-growing-town-rich-past.html

Hudson Valley Magazine: http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/April-2010/10-Top-Towns/index.php?cparticle=3&siarticle=2

Chronogram Magazine: http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2009/6/Community+Pages/Positively-Pawling?page=1

Everywhere Magazine: http://www.everywheremag.com/articles/1707

American Booksellers Association: http://news.bookweb.org/news/independent-bookstores-make-good-copy

Mid Hudson Central: http://www.midhudsoncentral.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15707185&BRD=1707&PAG=461&dept_id=72297&rfi=6

The Best Time with Joanne Bellontine!

When we first met Joanne Bellontine, we knew we were going to have a great time hosting an event here for her. And we were right!

Today Joanne came to speak and sign her memoir, Resilience Matters. This phenomenal memoir is about Joanne's "journey through the foster care system, an abusive first marriage, and the ordeal of breast cancer," and learning to hold tight to your dreams. This is a story that inspired the staff here and many other people as well!

Joanne was joined by her husband, children, and grandchildren. Many friends and family members stopped by, and Joanne made and met new fans!

A passerby said it best when she stopped, looked into the events room, and said, "That sounds like success." It definitely is, and we are so appreciative to everyone who made it so wonderful!

Jim Benn and the Birth of Billy Boyle

Jim Benn, author of the "Billy Boyle" World War II mystery series, visited the Cove last weekend...and turned the Covies into instant fans! Jim was a wonderful speaker, who greeted a number of eagerly waiting readers, and also attracted passing shoppers with the passion and wit of his talk.

Of particular interest? Jim has traveled to almost all of the countries he writes about, including Ireland and England.

We have autographed stock on hand of Jim's books, in case you missed the signing, and we hope to see Jim again in the fall with the release of his fifth book, Rag and Bone!

To learn more about the author, visit http://www.jamesrbenn.com/

"Saddled" Signing with Susan Richards!

Several years ago, the Covie crew flipped for a book called Chosen by a Horse. The book made its way from one staff person to another, winning rave reviews from all of us. Throughout the country, Chosen by a Horse was having the same effect on countless other people. Little did we know that the author, Susan Richards, would one day come to the Cove. Even less did we know that Susan would come not once, but twice!

Today marks Susan's second visit to Pawling. Her new memoir, Saddled, serves as a sort of prequel to the "Chosen" books. Horse lovers from as far away as Ridgefield Connecticut turned out to meet the New York Times-bestselling author, with one person confessing that she had not read a book in years until she stumbled across Chosen by a Horse. The audience members traded stories with our author, ranging from their love of horses to balancing family and work obligations with that aforementioned passion.

As Susan explained in her talk, Saddled tells the story of two very important figures in her life: Georgia, her beloved mare, and alcoholism, the unwanted specter in her past. Susan said that she did not delve into her battle with addiction in her other two books, but felt ready to do so with Saddled. The reading Susan gave from the beginning of the book was profoundly moving, and showed how her positive relationship with Georgia enabled her to confront the less positive relationships she had with her husband and alcohol. Beautifully written, as all her books are, it was amazing to hear the words in Susan's voice. Susan was a very inspiring speaker, and we were so happy to see her again. Many thanks to our author and our audience!

April Authors, Pt. II

Rosemary Harris is back! Rosemary visited us in March of 2009 and won so many new fans that our readers were special requesting her as a guest author for 2010.

Rosemary's new book, the third in her popular Dirty Business series, is called Dead Head.

On a sunny Thursday evening, Rosemary and the Covies held a party to celebrate the release of her new mystery. We were joined by over half a dozen of her loyal followers, some of whom met her last year, and some of whom have met her protagonist Paula Holliday and wanted to meet Paula's creator in person.

Equipped with doughnuts from the actual restaurant that inspired her fictional Paradise Diner, as well as other delicious snacks and drinks, we were ready for an enjoyable evening. Rosemary made the night completely spectacular, by talking about her writing process (she often draws inspiration from unusual headlines in newspapers) and her next book, Slug Fest. If you missed her this time, we hope to see Ro again when Slug Fest comes out!

A sincere thank you to Rosemary and our eventgoers! It was a blast as always.

Visit the author's website, http://www.rosemaryharris.com/ to learn more!

Another Signing Success!

Almost every member of our staff read it, and everyone loved it! We were especially excited to meet Joel Rose and ask him all our questions about his phenomenal novel, The Blackest Bird. Joel arrived with his lovely wife Karen and two vivacious boys, and people filed in off the streets to listen to Joel speak. Our most burning question was answered; it has to do with the end of the novel though, so we will post it below the jump. The Blackest Bird took an unbelievable 17 years to be completed, with Joel working on it even when he was very ill. Karen also worked on it as the editor. The finished product shows the amount of research and imagination that was poured into it. Definitely a labor of love, The Blackest Bird has become a bestseller at The Book Cove.

After Joel's autographing, sports writer Howard Megdal joined us with Rachel. The beautiful young couple had several avid baseball fans waiting for them. Howard discussed his first book, The Baseball Talmud, as well as Judaism and anti-Semitism.

Visit Joel's website: http://www.joelrosebooks.com/
Read an interview with Howard: http://www.metsgeek.com/articles/2008/05/02/interview-howard-megdal/

Finale for the Month of May

Actress and New York Times-bestselling author Isabel Gillies came to the Cove this past weekend. We all loved her! Plus, we got to ask her several questions, including the most pressing one: Will there be a sequel? We had our fingers crossed... and the answer is yes! Isabel joked that she will go on writing books until people get sick of them, and she is already writing another memoir, due to be completed this summer.

Isabel was our final author for the month of May. We have already blogged about how packed June will be; look for more information to be posted soon!