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CONTACT:
Jill Hendrix
Fiction Addiction
864-675-0540
info@fiction-addiction.com
http://www.fiction-addiction.com
Book Your Lunch with New York Times Bestselling Author William Kent Krueger
 Greenville, SC, February 20, 2013 - Book Your Lunch with New York Times bestselling author William Kent Krueger on Saturday, April 13th, 2013 at The Lazy Goat. Tickets are $25 per person. Tickets must be purchased in advance at http://www.bookyourlunch.com or by calling Fiction Addiction at 864-675-0540.
William Kent Krueger is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 books. His brilliant new novel, Ordinary Grace (Atria, hardcover, $24.99, on sale 3/26/13), begins with a young man, a small town, and a murder in the summer of 1961.
New Bremen, Minnesota, 1961. The Twins were playing their debut season, ice-cold root beers were selling out at the soda counter of Halderson's Drugstore, and Hot Stuff comic books were a mainstay on every barbershop magazine rack. It was a time of innocence and hope for a country with a new, young president. But for thirteen-year-old Frank Drum it was a grim summer in which death visited frequently and assumed many forms. Accident. Nature. Suicide. Murder.
Frank begins the season preoccupied with the concerns of any teenage boy, but when tragedy unexpectedly strikes his family, which includes his Methodist minister father, his artistic mother, his Juilliard-bound older sister, and his wise-beyond-his-years kid brother-he finds himself thrust into an adult world full of secrets, lies, adultery, and betrayal, suddenly called upon to demonstrate a maturity and gumption beyond his years.
The child in question is Bobby Cole, a sweet-looking, simple kid cut down by a train speeding along the tracks by the river's edge just outside town. And more deaths follow, including one that tears at the heart of young Frank's family. Told from Frank's perspective forty years after that fateful summer, Ordinary Grace is a brilliantly moving story about a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. Ordinary Grace is a heartfelt and gripping coming-of-age tale. Although the story has elements of mystery to it, it is a bit of a departure for Krueger, a multi award-winning crime writer best known for his critically acclaimed Cork O'Connor series. Says the author, "I didn't construct it with a tight narrative in the way that a book written strictly in the crime genre would demand." Instead Krueger focused on creating a particular time-the summer of 1961-and a particular place-a small town deep in the heart of the Minnesota River valley-that have allowed him to examine memories and emotions arising from his own adolescence, and to explore themes that have been important to him all his life. He writes, "This wasn't intended to be a memoir and it isn't at all, but because I tapped the deep roots of my own experience to create the fiction, I felt the power of the story from the very first words of the very first sentence: All the dying that summer began with the death of a child...."
About the author:
 | | William Kent Krueger |
William Kent Krueger is the award-winning author of twelve previous Cork O'Connor novels, including Northwest Angle and Trickster's Point, as well as the novel Ordinary Grace. He lives in the Twin Cities with his family. In his own words: Call me Kent. I was born November 16, 1950 in Torrington, Wyoming, the third of four children whose parents convinced them that they had gypsy blood flowing through their veins. Before I graduated from high school, I'd lived in eleven different houses, in eight different cities, in six different states. By the time I was old enough to know what's what, I realized that we simply moved every time the rent was due. Some of my best years were spent in Hood River, Oregon, so when people ask where I'm from, I usually lay that "honor" on Oregon. I attended Stanford University for one year. In the turbulent spring of 1970, I understood the administration and I didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of political issues. For example, they didn't look kindly on my participation in a takeover of the president's office in protest of what I saw as the University's complicity in weapons production during the Vietnam War. Not only did they sic the riot police on me, they evaporated my academic scholarship, forcing me to leave after my freshman year. Which was okay by me. I'd met the woman I knew I wanted to marry, and she lived in Nebraska. So I headed east. Over the next few years, I logged a bit of timber, worked a lot of construction, published a few magazine articles, and generally enjoyed life. I married-that lovely Cornhusker named Diane-and we pretty much had a ball. Then we conceived our first child, a daughter whose name would be Seneca, and we had to get serious about life. In the summer of 1980, we moved to St. Paul, Minnesota so that Diane could attend law school. Talk about Hell. She gave birth to our second child, Adam, in the first semester of her final year-and still made the Dean's List. It was during this period of time that I began to write in earnest and to develop the habits that became the basis for the writing discipline I follow to this day. Speaking of his new novel, Krueger says: I love Ordinary Grace-maybe too much. I've been telling my audiences this fall that I'm trying to prepare myself to have my heart broken when the book is released. Why? Readers can be stubborn, and I'm afraid that those of you who are ardent fans of my series will be reluctant to accept a book that doesn't have Cork O'Connor anywhere in the story. My deep hope is that you'll be willing to take a risk and give this novel a try. Honest to God, I've put everything I know about storytelling into this book. I believe absolutely that if you read it, you won't be disappointed. And I'll even go a step further. I believe that if you read this book, you'll fall in love with it, too. If you cannot make the event, you can reserve a personalized copy of Ordinary Grace by contacting Fiction Addiction in advance at 864-675-0540 or at info@fiction-addiction.com. ABOUT FICTION ADDICTION Fiction Addiction is a local, woman-owned, independent bookstore established in 2001. The store carries a mixture of new and used fiction and nonfiction, including children's books, as well as gift items. We have recently moved to a new location at 1175 Woods Crossing Road (in the shopping center with Five Guys and Fried Green Tomatoes). For more information, visit our website at http://www.fiction-addiction.com or call us at 864-675-0540.  ABOUT BOOK YOUR LUNCH
The Book Your Lunch author event program was launched in September 2009, and is a new way to bring authors and readers together -- right here in Greenville. This luncheon series provides the ultimate food for thought with a wide range of authors -- from mystery writers, to award-winning regional novelists to nonfiction and cookbook authors. Jill Hendrix, the owner of Fiction Addiction, founded the event program and is responsible for booking the authors. For more information about Book Your Lunch, please visit our website at http://www.bookyourlunch.com. - END -
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