Name: "Helen of Holliday's Cove" Book Release Event in Hershey, PA
Start: 2026-03-14T13:30:00-04:00
Location: Hershey Area Playhouse

"Helen of Holliday's Cove" Book Release Event in Hershey, PA

Come join author Valerie Van Orman as she celebrates the release of her historical fiction novel "Helen of Holliday's Cove" at the Hershey Area Playhouse! The event is free and open to the public.
Valerie Van Orman will discuss how she wrote the novel about her great-grandmother's life based on family heirlooms and genealogical research. The event will include book signings, author Q&A, a free basket raffle, light refreshments, and an opportunity to purchase the book on site. The highlight of this event will be excerpt readings from the novel with Valerie Van Orman and several talented actors from the local theatre community: Amy Jo Brixius, Dara Boden, Jasmine Bucher, Roxanne Hennessy, Emily Hershey, Danielle Klinger-Grumbine, Mike Ritter, Shelby Snyder, Ian Wallace, and Travis Zimmerman. The event is free and open to the public. Please join us as we celebrate the release of "Helen of Holliday's Cove" in Hershey, PA!
About the novel: Across generations, two lives intertwine through loss, love, and an unseen bond. In the early 1900s in Holliday's Cove, WV, Helen McCulloch’s dreams of family and adventure are upended by tragedy. Nearly a century later, preteen Beth Herlemann begins seeing a ghostly woman in a brown dress, a presence both haunting and protective. As Beth unravels the mystery, she learns that the past isn’t gone – it is reaching beyond the veil to help and protect us. Helen of Holliday’s Cove is a poignant dual-timeline novel about resilience, connection, and how women’s stories echo through time to guide those who come after.
About Valerie Van Orman: Valerie Van Orman holds a Ph.D. in communication studies and is currently a university professor in Pennsylvania, where she resides with her husband and cat. Her academic publications include 40+ peer-reviewed research articles, book reviews, and book chapters, as well as the academic book "Public Memory and the Television Series Outlander." She is passionate about creating public memory of women’s stories that have been lost to history and sharing her own family history stories through fiction.
You can find more information or pre-order the book at www.valerievanorman.com