Author Joan Livingston, a former town resident, will give a talk and reading Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Millicent Library.
The event, sponsored by the Friends of the Millicent Library, will be held 6:30 to 8 p.m.
“I am excited to give this talk about my experiences as a writer and to read from my books at a library that was such an important part of my childhood,” Livingston said. “I was so pleased when I learned the Millicent Library carries my novels.”
Livingston, who grew up in North Fairhaven with the last name Medeiros, is the author of novels for adult and young readers, including the Isabel Long Mystery Series. Soon her publisher, darkstroke books, will be releasing the seventh in this series, in which Isabel Long uses the skills she obtained as a former journalist to solve cold cases in the fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Her ‘Watson’ is her 93-year-old mother, Maria.
Livingston plans to give a sneak peak of Missing the Deadline, number seven.
She will also read from her most recent release, Northern Comfort, which is not part of the series but has a familiar setting. This novel is about the harsh realities of rural life.
Willi Miller does her best by Cody, who was brain-damaged at birth. Their home is a cabin left by the grandfather who took them in after Junior Miller abandoned them. Then, on a snowy day, Cody’s sled sends him into the path of a truck driven by Miles Potter, a man of means. Willi and Miles have known each other since they were kids, but until that moment, they are separated by their families’ places in town.
A Fairhaven High graduate, Livingston has a strong connection to the Millicent Library via the weekly visits she made as a youngster with her late mother, Algerina Medeiros, who is the inspiration for Isabel Long’s mother.
Livingston worked as a journalist for over 30 years, including editor-in-chief of newspapers in Taos, New Mexico — where Henry Huttleston Rogers has a strong connection through his granddaughter Millicent Rogers’ art museum — and Western Massachusetts.
The fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts is the chief setting of Livingston’s books. As a journalist she listened to the way people talked and observed how they behaved. It’s an experience she believes has paid off with realistic dialogue and authentic characters in her novels. “I like to say I take what I know and have my way with it,” Livingston said.
Livingston left journalism last year to concentrate on her own writing and other endeavors. She and her husband, Hank, live in the village of Shelburne Falls, where currently she is on the Buckland Selectboard.
Currently, she is writing a sequel to The Sacred Dog called The Unforgiving Town.
In appreciation, her books will be available for a discount at $10 each, cash or check only.
Visit https://www.joanlivingston.net/ or find her on Facebook or Instagram.
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