We have been doing the Signed Books for Christmas Event for 3 years now, every December. It is always a lot of fun seeing the store all ready for Christmas, and having authors signing and personalizing their books, making everyone's Christmas present's just a tad more special.
This year we will have two amazing PNW authors here December 3rd, 1-3pm.
Rebecca Zanetti is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author and has published more than sixty novels, which have been translated into several languages, with more than five million copies sold world-wide. She dabbles in just about every genre as well. Her newest release,You Can Hide, is a thrilling suspense novel set in the rural Pacific Northwest. Although this book can be read as a stand alone, it is the second book in the Laurel Snow Thriller series, the first book was You Can Run, and it follows the same FBI agent. In You Can Hide, Special Agent Laurel Snow suspects her newly discovered half-sister has something to do with the mysterious disappearance of their father. But, when her sister claims that someone is out to kill her, Laurel can't stand by and watch. Things get even more complicated when dead bodies start turning up in the local river and her sister is the only common denominator between them.
The second author to join us this December 3rd is Kristin Vayden. Her books are for the fans of the TV Show Bridgerton. Can't wait until the next season? give this lovely lady and her series, the Cambridge Brotherhood, a try. Her newest release, My Dearest Duke, is the second in the series, but like You Can Hide by Rebecca Zanetti, it can be read as a stand alone.
Lord Rowles Haywind is a new Duke and has more responsibility than he ever wanted or dreamed of. He needs help, but he is not sure who he can trust. Reconnecting with Lady Joan makes Rowles more confident and reassures him as no one ever has. But just like Rowles, she has secrets that could cause terrible scandal. The question then becomes if they can truly trust each other.
Both these authors write phenomenal stories and between the two of them you are sure to find a book to love or to give!
Title: by Robin Wall Kimmerer and adapted by Monique Gray Smith
Title:Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten
The Review:
By Amy Halvorson Miller
During this Native American Heritage Month, let’s hear from some Indigenous authors to expand our knowledge of their many tribes and stories. Listen to what they can teach us about their history, but even more, how we can gain understanding for our future with one another as well as the land, our home.
First, an immersive work of historical fiction, The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson, won the 2022 Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. The story begins in Dakhóta country, 2002. An alternating timeline across generations tells the history of Rosalie Iron Wing and her ancestors whose land in Minnesota was stolen in 1862. Rosalie, an orphan and later a widow, returns to her childhood house to heal and somehow connect with her people through friendship and memories of her father’s teachings.
Sometimes independent bookstores are offered unique opportunities to partner with their local communities in meaningful projects. This happened for Inklings recently. Random House Publishing provided 25 copies of the newly released children’s chapter book, The Last Mapmaker, to be given to students to review. We were fortunate to partner with a class of fifth graders at Naches Valley Middle School and their teacher, Michelle Downs. Each student received their own copy of The Last Mapmaker and Mrs. Downs guided the reading and the writing of the reviews. At the conclusion of the project, a group of teachers read the reviews and chose 4 that impressed them above the others. These students received gift cards from Inklings and the whole class enjoyed a celebration of donuts and pizza. A good book and pizza! Two of the greatest!
Here are the reviews that were chosen for publication.
It’s that time of the year again when “ghoul season” is upon us! If you’re anything like me, I’m always
seeking out shows, movies, and (of course) books to read during the autumnal months. Below are two
creepy-fun young adult books that deliver just the right amount of “spooky” to anyone’s fall night.
Since I was a young boy, I have been a fan of all-things-vampire. I’ve spent countless Halloween nights
in a cape, sporting a set of (glow-in-the-dark) sharp incisors. At the age of thirteen, I even asked my father
if I could have a bed frame made in the shape of a coffin. And though I didn’t get my coffin bed, I still
joke with my husband that I want one. It’s safe to say that this love has carried far into my adulthood.
OK, maybe not plan a murder exactly… just read about it. It is October after all, the month for all things mystery, suspense, thriller, etc.
Or maybe we should help solve a murder? Decisions decisions…
Author Emmeline Duncan and author Tamara Berry will be at Inklings this October 22nd, 1 to 3pm, with their newest titles and ready to solve a mystery or two with us. There might even be prizes to anyone that purchases a book from them.
Emmeline Duncan is coming from Oregon. She was here last year for our very first Cozy Mysteries for Halloween event with the first book in her A Ground Rules Mystery series, Fresh Brewed Murder.The book was so good, and everyone loved it so much, we had to order more.
The second book came out this April, and it is called Double Shot Death. Although it can be read as a standalone (we will have both available this Saturday), it has the same main character as in the first book, our fabulous master barista and crime solving extraordinaire, Sage Caplin. Sage manages to get a spot at an annual eco-friendly festival held just outside Portland, where fans get to enjoy some great Pacific Northwest music, great food, and fantastic coffee. Sounds perfect right? And it is… until Sage stumbles upon a dead body in the nearby woods, his hands still clutching one of her coffee mugs. Can she help solve yet another murder that just ‘fell’ at her doorstep?
When I finished The Door of No Return by poet and fiction writer Kwame Alexander, not only was I deeply moved, but I knew I’d read a story that we need now in children’s literature. Alexander’s just-published book is historical fiction told in verse especially for older elementary and young adult readers.
Set in West Africa in 1860, the story is inspired by the real lives of the Asante people and told from the point of view of 11-year-old Kofi Offin, who brings us into his everyday life with his family and village. Kofi is the grandson of Nana Mosi, a great storyteller; cousin of Kofi Katari, a competitive bully (both born on a Friday); best mate with Ebo and hopeful sweetheart of Ama. Kofi experiences the joy and stresses of boyhood and despite the warnings, he loves to swim in the river Offin, where he was born.
In February 2022, there was a criminal on the loose in Lake Tahoe. Homes around the lake were being
ransacked. Unlike most thieves, this one was not after expensive electronics or jewels, instead he
wanted food. Officials pointed the finger at a local 500-pound black bear named Hank the Tank. Due
process is not afforded to black bears, surprisingly, and California Fish and Wildlife had to decide
whether to kill or relocate Hank the Tank. At the eleventh hour, however, DNA evidence collected at the
crime scenes exonerated Hank. Several other bears were responsible for the break-ins around Lake
Tahoe. The prodigious black bear was left alone.
I say this every time and I will say it again: this is my favorite thing to write for the newspaper! I love looking back at what people have been reading.
Here is a list of Inklings Summer Bestsellers (in-store only):
It is no surprise to anyone here that Rob Phillips' new book is THE bestseller at Inklings. Phillips has now sold well over 2000 copies of this series at Inklings alone. If you are a fan of mysteries and local stories and have not started in this series yet, you most definitely should! The books are fast paced, entertaining, and with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes while reading.
"Tanum is a northwest history which offers the reader much more than an account of the development of the Bumping River Valley. Susan Summit Cyr weaves her deep observations and family life in the wilderness along the way. She brings a deep appreciation for the awesome and irreplaceable diversity of life just up the road from here." (Amy Halvorson Miller, Inklings Assistant Manager)
I say this every time and I will say it again: this is my favorite thing to write for the newspaper! I love looking back at what people have been reading. 