Dian Greenwood and Suzanne Parry at Third Place Books

Third Place Books welcomes authors Dian Greenwood and Suzanne Parry to our Lake Forest Park store for a conversation about their new novels. Dian's is a companion to her earlier novel Forever Blackbirds, while Suzanne's is a historical novel set in the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

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When California divorce attorney Marta Bufford says to friend and seminar leader Gilbert that she needs ‘to go backward in order to go forward,’ she’s talking about both her personal history and uncertain future, a dichotomy that comes into clear focus during a weeklong meditation retreat in chilly Duluth, Minnesota.

Marta simultaneously denies her drinking problem while wrestling with her own impending divorce. She bonds with her plain-speaking granddaughter, Jennifer, in a fast-paced novel about life reckonings which takes them on a road trip to Marta’s childhood hometown of Myra, North Dakota. Here, she faces the remembered guidance of her maternal grandmother and the haunting of family secrets.

Piggybacking on her earlier novel, Forever Blackbirds, Dian Greenwood’s newest novel, Blackbird Whistling takes her readers on an historic ride with generations of strong women who try to find their rightful place in an often confusing and uncharitable world as seen through the lens of today’s challenges and yesterday’s hardships.

From former Pentagon official and award-winning historical novelist Suzanne Parry comes The Communist’s Secret—a haunting WWII novel of betrayal, bravery, and second chances.

Driven by a blind devotion to the Communist Party, self-centered Katya Karavayeva has broken the most important rule in Soviet society: Never say anything that can be used against you. On the heels of that betrayal, Nazi Germany invades and the Soviet Union mobilizes. Katya hopes to halt her downward spiral by joining the volunteer militia, but within a few short weeks finds herself under attack.

After escaping with another volunteer, Katya spends weeks on the run before landing in a town under Nazi occupation. There, she finds a place and a purpose and learns to fight a different kind of war, repaying German brutality with a harsh justice of her own. By turns desperate, courageous, and conflicted, she battles the Nazis and her own inner demons while dreaming of reunion with her daughter and forgiveness from her husband—the one she betrayed.

For fans of Kate Quinn and Mark Sullivan, The Communist’s Secret is the second book of The Leningrad Trilogy, a saga set in Soviet Russia during World War II and the post-war era.

Dian Greenwood studied writing (emphasis on poetry) at San Francisco State University. She later studied novel writing with Janet Fitch (White Oleander) and Tom Spanbauer (In the City of Shy Hunters). Dian published her award winning novel, About the Carleton Sisters in 2023 with She Writes Press) and, a year later, Forever Blackbirds (2024). The Blackbird sequel, Blackbird Whistling, will debut September 2, 2025, both books from Traveler’s Moon Press. Dian previously published essays in the online magazine, The Big Smoke, America. Her Substack essays can be found at It’s Never Too Late, . Dian lives in Portland, Oregon, where she writes and works as a family therapist. She can be reached at [email protected].

Suzanne Parry is a former arms control negotiator turned historical novelist. She studied Russian in Moscow and worked for the US Department of Defense. While at the Pentagon, she helped negotiate the first international security agreement of the Gorbachev era. She has taught university, coached high school cross-country, and raised a large family. A dedicated runner, Suzanne lives on both coasts but calls Portland, Oregon home.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way Northeast, Lake Forest Park, United States