Author events at Browseabout Books continue July 11
Browseabout Books will host signing events with Nicola Harrison from 1 to 3 p.m., Tuesday, July 11, and Terah Shelton Harris from 2 to 4 p.m., Wednesday, July 19, at 133 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach.
Harrison will be promoting her newest release, “Hotel Laguna,” a stunning novel of love, art and secrets on sun-kissed Laguna Beach as a working woman searches for direction and meaning in the aftermath of World War II.
In 1942, Hazel Francis left Wichita, Kan., for California, determined to do her part for the war effort. At Douglas Aircraft, she became one of many so-called Rosie the Riveters, helping construct bombers for the U.S. military. But now the war is over, men have returned to their factory jobs, and women like Hazel have been dismissed, expected to return home to their roles as wives and mothers.
Unwilling to be forced into a traditional woman’s role in the Midwest, Hazel remains on the West Coast and finds herself in the bohemian town of Laguna Beach. Desperate for work, she accepts a job as an assistant to famous artist Hanson Radcliff. Beloved by the locals for his contributions to the art scene and respected by critics, Radcliff lives under the shadow of a decades-old scandal that haunts him.
Working hard to stay on her cantankerous employer’s good side, Hazel becomes a valued member of the community. She never expected to fall in love with the rhythms of life in Laguna, nor did she expect to find a kindred spirit in Jimmy, the hotel bartender whose friendship promises something more. But Hazel still wants to work with airplanes, and maybe even learn to fly one someday. Torn between pursuing her dream and the dream life she has been granted, she is unsure if giving herself over to Laguna is what her heart truly wants.
From librarian and debut author Harris comes the radiant, heartfelt novel “One Summer in Savannah.” Sara, a young poet, returns home after eight years away to run her father’s bookstore and finds she must protect her gifted daughter — and herself — from the powerful family of the man who raped her, something made even more difficult when she falls in love with the last person she expects: his twin brother, Jacob.
The novel deeply and thoughtfully examines questions of pregnancy, motherhood, family, redemption, and unconditional love, all set against the backdrop of Savannah, Ga., a city with a magic that crackles off the page.
