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Join PNW author Shari Lane to discuss her new book, Two Over Easy All Day Long, a literary novel set in fictional Motte and Bailey, Oregon! Giles Anthony Maurice Gibson, Manhattanite and president of ABC Toys, floats through life on a cloud of wealth and privilege. Until now. When his company's negligence results in tragedy, the judge, weary of a world where justice is rarely served, sentences Giles to a year of community service in rural Oregon, and supervised work at Sunnyside Up, a local diner. Renamed “Tony,” and fitted with an ankle monitor to keep him in his place, he must find a way to make amends for the consequences of always choosing the easy way.
Shortly after Giles-learning-to-be-Tony arrives, the curmudgeonly cook finds a dead body in the dumpster behind the restaurant. Tony and the other misfits at the diner are soon suspects, but—though they will eventually work together to figure out “whodunnit”—Two Over Easy All Day Long isn't a murder mystery, it's a human mystery, asking how far a person can bend before breaking, and whether breaking isn't the point, after all.
“Mystery enshrouds the small town of Motte and Bailey, Oregon, when the privileged CEO of ABC Toys from New York is sentenced to community service there, after one of his toys causes the death of a young girl. Giles-turned-Tony wears an ankle monitor while dishwashing in Sunnyside Up, a diner, alongside a cast of characters who have their own penance to perform. Among the many personalities are a Vietnam vet gone AWOL, a young man who can't read, a detective investigating a drug ring, and a pregnant woman hoping to recapture her life and finish her accounting degree. Shari Lane creates characters with elegant humor, wit, and irony, revealing in surprisingly poignant scenes each character's potential for evolving beyond their frailties and past sins, through their work together and compassionate influence upon each other at Sunnyside Up.” — Kip Robinson Greenthal, author of Shoal Water (Pushcart Prize nominee, Landmark Prize for Fiction, Silver Medal from Nautilus Book Awards).
“Good pacing, humane but honest characterizations, flashes of humor in the details-the gloved handshake, the urinal smell in the back of the bus.... It starts with a child's avoidable death, and that moment is terrifying ... but Lane doesn't milk it. It happened, there is some measure of accountability, and off the story goes.” — Rachel George, independent thinker, Old Books on Front Street
“Replete with entertaining small town characters, a dead body, humorous exchanges, a dog named after a popular teabag, and a dose of surprising sweetness, Shari Lane's novel tells a moving tale of transformation, mystery . . . and perhaps redemption.” — Stephanie Barbé Hammer, author of Journey to Merveilleux City and Pretend Plumber.
“In Two Over Easy All Day Long, Shari Lane brings a small-town cast of characters to life with affection and humor. Sunnyside Up, the diner where they work, is the kind of place you wish you could frequent, even at the risk of getting a scalding coffee bath if owner Nancy Marone thinks you're up to no good. Don't let the whimsy fool you, though-there's deep emotion and pathos here, too. A novel is only worthwhile if it's also true, and by that I mean emotionally true. The characters' experiences have to change them, and show them truths about themselves, about life, about what it means to be fully human. Two Over Easy All Day Long does just that. A must-read. — Charlotte Rains Dixon, Writing Coach, author of The Bonne Chance Bakery and Emma Jean's Bad Behavior
“Clueless corporate executive makes a big mistake, finds himself exiled to a small town with an ankle monitor and a new name. And a thankless job at a diner straight out of the 1950s, run by a team of loveably weird characters. Shari Lane's distinctive take on a fish-out-of-water tale is delightfully quirky, engrossing, and poignant.” — Deborah Guyol, author of Elderberry Wine Vintage 2010: Writings from the Clark College Mature Learning Program, co-author of Pride and Prejudice and Kitties
ABOUT SHARI LANE
I was reading voraciously by the time I entered kindergarten, and I have been writing for almost as long. My first full-length novel, hand-written at the age of ten and stapled together for my family, followed the adventures of magical guinea pigs. Whenever and however possible, I surround myself with books, writers, and readers. In addition to being Managing Editor of SHARK REEF Literary Magazine, I am on the Lopez Island Library’s Board of Trustees, and host WORD!, an open mic for local writers. It is my ardent belief that good writing can provide a much-needed escape, a chance for a cathartic cry or a healing belly laugh. Just as importantly, in these divided and divisive times, I believe stories can build bridges, as we see through another’s eyes, and feel through the beating of another’s heart.
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900 NW Mt. Washington Dr. Suite #110, Bend, OR, United States, Oregon 97703
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