Page 158 Books is thrilled to welcome Regal House Publishing Authors Carolyn Jack, A.L. Sirois, Valerie Nieman and Culley Holderfield for an author panel. Carolyn Jack is the author of The Changing of Keys, out Sept. 17th.
With his father dead, a gifted, fourteen-year-old pianist finds himself sent away from his Caribbean home against his will, to study classical music in the U.S. with a family friend he's never met. His first angry, frightened step away from the controlling mother he's never been able to reach becomes a sharp break with her expectations: he leaps into the dramatic and cutthroat world of opera. In this high-stakes milieu, his fierce desire to be a star fires both his brilliance and the dark distrust of women and of love that is the legacy of his childhood, a legacy that threatens his career, his impulsive marriage, and the young daughter he never wanted.
Carolyn Jack has won the Meringoff Prize for Fiction and The Westchester Review’ s Flash Fiction Contest. Her literary work has appeared in such periodicals as Literary Matters, the Blue Mountain Review, and Pen + Brush in Print. A two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and an award-winning arts journalist, she holds both an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts and an MA in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A.L. Sirois is the author of Murder in Mennefer, out now.
After thirteen-year-old Imhotep's architect father, Kaneferw, is inexplicably killed on a construction site, Imhotep learns that his father's business profits have gone missing. Forced to work in a grisly abattoir to make ends meet, Imhotep discovers that Ahmose, his father's apprentice, is mysteriously connected not only to the missing funds but also to a grandiose plot orchestrated by the terrorist Sons of Atum to overthrow the king. When a family friend, in whom he has confided, is suddenly poisoned, Imhotep knows that time is running out-- both to seek justice for his murdered father and to save the royal family from a bloody coup. Threatened at every turn, Imhotep must use all of his wiles to outwit his enemies, protect his family, and save the realm. Deftly navigating the twists and turns of ancient Egypt, Murder in Mennefer is a timeless tale of deceit, devotion, and intrigue.
A.L. Sirois is a ghostwriter, developmental editor, and graphic artist. His first book was a children's book, DINOSAUR DRESS UP, published in 1992 by William Morrow. He has also published science fiction, fantasy, and horror, with occasional works of mainstream fiction.
Valerie Nieman is the author of In the Lonely Backwater, out now.
All seventeen-year-old Maggie Warshauer wants is to leave her stifled life in Filliyaw Creek behind and head to college. An outsider at school and uncertain of her own sexual identity, Maggie longs to start again somewhere new. Inspired by a long-dead biologist's journals, scientific-minded Maggie spends her days sailing, exploring, and categorizing life around her. But when her beautiful cousin Charisse disappears on prom night and is found dead at the marina where Maggie lives, Maggie's plans begin to unravel. A mysterious stranger begins stalking her and a local detective on the case leaves her struggling to hold on to her secrets--her father's alcoholism, her mother's abandonment, a boyfriend who may or may not exist, and her own actions on prom night. As the detective gets closer to finding the truth, and Maggie's stalker is closing in, she is forced to comes to terms with the one person who might hold the answers--herself
Valerie Nieman is the author of In the Lonely Backwater, a YA/crossover thriller that won the Sir Walter Raleigh Award and was a Foreword Reviews finalist. She has four earlier novels, winner of the Eric Hoffer Award and finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award; three books of poetry; and a short fiction collection. Her work has appeared widely, including in The Georgia Review, Poetry, O.Henry Magazine, Chautauqua, New Writing Scotland, and many anthologies. A journalism graduate of West Virginia University and holder of an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, she has received state and NEA fellowships. A new novel, Upon the Corner of the Moon, will appear in 2025.
Culley Holderfield is the author of Hemlock Hollow, out now.
Caroline McAlister, college professor and life-long skeptic, is reeling from the loss of her father and her marriage. Her once promising career has come to a standstill. When her father bequeaths the family cabin to her, it comes with a ghost who haunted her childhood. When she discovers a century-old journal in the attic, she awakens the voice of Carson Quinn. The journal reveals Carson's love for the same hollow that enthralled Caroline growing up. A little sleuthing uncovers rumors that the kind, curious boy in the journal grew up to murder his brother. Caroline plunges into the project of exonerating Carson, only to find herself in the throes of a personal past she's spent her life trying to avoid. Hemlock Hollow is about how we forever haunt the places we love and how they haunt us in return.
Event Venue
415 Brooks Street, Wake Forest, NC, United States, North Carolina 27587
