St. Louis Public Library

ST. LOUIS PUBLIC LIBRARY'S AUGUST AUTHORS @ YOUR LIBRARY SERIES LINEUP

The St. Louis Public Library is proud to present Maija Rhee Devine, Laura McHugh, King Taylor,and Carl Weber as part of the August installment of its popular Authors @ Your Library series. All events are FREE and open to the public.

Plus Libba Bray is this month's Read St. Louis Teen Fiction author.  Read St. Louis is a community-wide initiative. The Library partners with the St. Charles City-County Library and the Saint Louis County Library to encourage St. Louisans to read and discuss books.

All events are FREE and open to the public. 

 

• Bestselling author Laura McHugh discusses and signs her book, The Weight of Blood.  The event takes place at the Central Library, 1301 Olive St., on August 2 at 2 p.m.  Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

It has been seventeen years since Lucy Dane's mother, a bewitching young stranger named Lila, arrived in a small Ozark town and soon after disappeared. Folk still whisper about Lila—how she had no kin; how she turned Joe Bill Sump into a snake; how she emitted a scent that would seduce you if you got too close; how she tricked Carl Dane into marrying her. Now on the brink of adulthood, Lucy has inherited her mother's exotic beauty and the locals' deep-rooted mistrust.

When one of Lucy's friends is found murdered, she sets out with the help of a local boy to uncover the mystery. What she discovers is a secret that pervades the secluded Missouri hills; and beyond that horrific revelation is a more personal one about what happened to her mother.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of Big Sleep Books.

• King L. Taylor, Jr. discusses and signs his book, Pennies, Nickels & Dimes: A Historical Prospective of the African American Entrepreneur and the African American Economy.  The event takes place at the Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., on August 9 at 3 p.m.

Pennies, Nickels & Dimes is a historical perspective of African-American entrepreneurs and the African-American economy. It features sketches on beauty pioneer Madame C.J. Walker, who built a cosmetics empire in the early 20th century, as well as Negro League team owners. The book also touches on the "Black Wall Street," a section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where 600 black-owned businesses thrived until a Ku Klux Klan orchestrated riot in 1921. Taylor offers theories on why African-American entrepreneurs are rare today.

King L. Taylor, Jr. is an author, entrepreneur, mentor, and educator. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration/Economics from Park University of Kansas City, Missouri, and earned his Masters of Management from Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a recipient of the Mass Mutual Blue Chip Enterprise Award and currently serves as regional vice president of the National Business League.

 

Books available for purchase courtesy of the author.

• New York Times bestselling author Carl Weber discusses and signs his book, The Choir Director 2: Runaway Bride.  The event is co-sponsored by Left Bank Books and takes place at the Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave. on August 20 at 7 p.m.

Three years ago Bishop T.K. Wilson's church was on the verge of bankruptcy, and his only hope to dig his ministry out of its hole was a young, hotheaded, womanizing choir director named Aaron. Together, the unlikely duo saved the church.

With his life in order, Aaron proposes to the church secretary who caught his eye and inspired him to become a one-woman man. It all goes wrong when Aaron is left at the altar without explanation.

Aaron turns to Bishop Wilson for help. As the investigation into his fiancée's disappearance continues, the two men are challenged in ways they never imagined.

Carl Weber is a New York Times and #1 Essence bestselling novelist and the founder and publisher of Urban Books. In 2005, he was named Blackboard's Publisher of the Year. Weber is a Virginia State University graduate and holds an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia.

Co-sponsored by Left Bank Books.

Books available for purchase courtesy of Left Bank Books.

 

 

• Maija Rhee Devine discusses and signs her book, The Voices of Heaven.  The event takes place at the Carpenter Branch, 3309 S. Grand Blvd., on August 27 at 7 p.m.

 

The Voices of Heaven is a rare gem in English-language literature about Korea, a story that takes us deep into the devotion and secrets of a family living in Seoul at the cusp of the Korean War. A tale that spans decades, the book reveals not only the injustices of unmitigated life circumstances but also the restorative power of truth and love. It is a tale that draws readers into the shadows of Korea's Confucian web that at once constrains and defines the powerful will of its people.

Maija Rhee Devine, a Korean-born writer whose fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Boulevard, North American Review,and The Kenyon Review, and in various anthologies, holds a B.A. in English from Sogang University in Seoul and an M.A. in English from St. Louis University.

Books available for purchase courtesy of Subterranean Books.

• Libba Bray discusses and signs her book, Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel.  The event takes place at St. Charles City-County Library on August 28 at 7 p.m.  Bray's book is the READ SAINT LOUIS 2014 – Teen Fiction Selection.

Books available for purchase.

For more information, call 314-880-8759.

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