Connecticut has long been a place where celebrated authors have chosen to live. Hartford had Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe; Roxbury had Arthur Miller, and Middletown had Annie Dillard. Nearer to home, Wally Lamb has used the Norwich area as inspiration. South-eastern Connecticut can also claim successful mystery writers who have been drawn to this beautiful area.
As summer winds down, mystery buffs and book lovers of all types will be heading to the second Celebrity Author Luncheon sponsored by the East Lyme Child and Family Auxiliary on Saturday, September 28, 2013, at the Community Center in East Lyme from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
As its first speaker, the Auxiliary is delighted to welcome James Benn of Hadlyme, who is the author of the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery Series. He will introduce the audience to his eighth Billy Boyle whodunit entitled A Blind Goddess. It recently received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. Crimespree Magazine has said, “The Billy Boyle books are among a small group that goes right to the top of the reading pile.”
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Mr. Benn, a graduate of the University of Connecticut has said about this historical mystery series set within the Allied High Command during the Second World War, “Writing the Billy Boyle mystery series has brought me an immense amount of joy. I’ve gotten to meet people in person and online from all over the country (and the rest of the world) and hear their reactions, feedback, and most importantly their own stories.” In 2011, after over thirty-five years in the library and information technology fields, Mr. Benn “quit the day job routine” to write full-time.
But there is a big difference between those who dream of writing and those who actually do it. Mr. Benn did it “by the seat of my pants,” he said, and with a ton of research
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The second celebrity is David Handler, a resident of Old Lyme, who is the critically acclaimed author of several bestselling mystery series. He will introduce his newly published novel, Runaway Man. Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife has said about Runaway Man,” David Handler is the master of the sly, comedic mystery. Runaway Man is his opus. The streets of Manhattan dazzle, the perfect crime isn't and Benji Golden, a would-be actor with a nose for finding missing kids takes on the challenge of his career. This story will grip you and break your heart Handler-style."
Mr. Handler has also written eight novels set in CT, featuring the mismatched crime-fighting duo of New York film critic Mitch Berger and the alluring Connecticut State Trooper- Desiree Mitry.
Mr. Handler has said, “These days, I live in a 200 year-old carriage house in a quaint, ultra-Waspy little historic New England village…I started the series in 2001…I get a chance to dissect the village and the people where I actually live. Absolutely everyone in town reads them. And I have fun bringing my own subversive contemporary edge to the classic old-school village murder mystery.”
Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. For more information or to make reservations for a party of six or more, call 860-460-2304 or email celebrityauthors@comcast.net.
