Submitted by Susanne Bacon.
Sometimes it’s hard to place a novel into a specific genre. And maybe we shouldn’t even try, because they might not want to fit into any specific drawer at all. Like these three new novels that we might loosely place amongst contemporary women’s fiction. They deal with human struggles, with people like you and me, with situations that are not so far from current reality – and that’s why they touch us in an immediate way.
A native New Yorker, awarded author Anne Leigh Parrish now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. Ever since her first publication in 1995 her stories have been focusing on women struggling to find identity and voice in a world often hostile to the female experience. Her third novel, “The Amendment”, was released in June. Protagonist Lavinia Dugan Starkhurst, who first appeared in Anne’s collection of interweaving short stories, “Our Love Could Light The World”, is suddenly widowed and takes herself on a cross-country road trip in search of something to give her new life meaning. Through meeting strangers with struggles of their own, Lavinia reflects her past and finds new self-acceptance.
“When Roosters Fly” by Lakewood-based author Val Dumond presents senior citizen Hal Harmony and his turbulent life of co-managing an airfield, coaching a baseball team, and training a pet rooster to fly. When he meets an energetic woman who builds replicas of vintage airplanes, his one-time dream of flying the Pacific Ocean nonstop comes alive again. It’s not just family and the authorities who have a say with his plans, but his own heart comes alive in unexpected ways, too. A word enthusiast, grammar guru, and owner of Muddy Puddle Press, Val Dumond makes sure your read will be both exquisite in language and delightful as to plot.
German-American Lakewood author Susanne Bacon has published her fourth Wycliff novel, “Clean Cuts”. Set in a fictitious small-town on South Puget Sound, this time the chef of a French restaurant has to deal with having become a paraplegic. Subtle romance, popular characters from the earlier novels, tasty recipes, and locations from the real Western Washington make this a perfect read for anybody with a hang for feel-good stories with a guaranteed happy ending.
The 6th Annual Lakewood Film, Arts, & Book (FAB) Festival takes place on September 28, 29, and 30, 2018 from 12 through 9:30 pm at the Shirley McGavick Conference Center at Clover Park Technical College, 4500 Steilacoom Boulevard SW. The book/author section is open from noon till 6 pm. Please find further information, also about the concession stand with fresh popcorn and more, at https://www.facebook.com/lakewoodfilmartsbooks.
