Mystery and Mimosas Anyone?
2021-08-01 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
How ’bout sparking up the start of August with some cozy mysteries and a mimosa? (Or just the OJ or just the bubbly if you prefer!) Mystery authors Linda Lovely and Dorothy St. James will BOTH be with us on Sunday, August 1st at 2 pm to debut their newest books and bring on the dog days of Summerville summer:
MANAGING AN HOA CAN BE MURDER: Murder victims in separate Lowcountry homeowner associations appear to have had only two things in common—they antagonized neighbors and their dead bodies were posed to shock. Are HOA feuds provoking these murders? Kylee Kane, a retired Coast Guard investigator, agrees to help her friend’s HOA management company find the answer. After uncovering decades-old links between the murder victims, Kylee IDs the killer’s next target. Can she foil the third act in the killer’s death-as-theater game or will she be the next corpse on display?
Linda Lovely has spent most of her career working in PR and advertising—an early introduction to penning fiction. With Neighbors Like These is Lovely’s ninth mystery/suspense novel. Whether she’s writing cozy mysteries, historical suspense or contemporary thrillers, her novels share one common element—smart, independent heroines. Humor and romance also sneak into every manuscript. Her work has earned nominations for a number of prestigious awards, ranging from RWA’s Golden Heart for Romantic Suspense to Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion for Best Cozy Mystery.
Linda lives on a lake in Upstate South Carolina with her husband, and enjoys swimming, tennis, gardening, long walks, and, of course, reading To learn more, visit www.lindalovely.com
And of course many of you know Dorothy St. James, who’s had not one but TWO wonderful signings at Main Street Reads in the past, including headlining the town’s Friday night Dessert Walk in 2019! Her newest entry (love this cover!) is The Broken Spine: When small-town assistant librarian Tru Beckett sets up a secret book room in her newly modernized library, she discovers that protecting the printed word is harder than she’d ever imagined. In fact, it’s murder.
We’ll have plenty of copies of her popular Chocolate Shop mysteries on hand as well!
Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including: Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”

Thriller Book Club August Pick: Eight Perfect Murders!
2021-08-12 18:30 - 20:00 | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
Reader votes are in and our Thrill in the ‘Ville club is reading Eight Perfect Murders for August, a thriller by Peter Swanson.
We’ll be serving refreshments and will have a unique gift for new club members!
A Kirkus Best Fiction Book of the year
“Swanson rips us from one startling plot twist to the next… A true tour de force.” –Lisa Gardner

Fiendish good fun. –Anthony Horowitz
From the hugely talented author of Before She Knew Him comes a chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.
Years ago, bookseller and mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders, those that are almost impossible to crack–which he titled “Eight Perfect Murders”–chosen from among the best of the best including Agatha Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, A. A. Milne’s The Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox’s Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity, John D. MacDonald’s The Drowner, and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
But no one is more surprised than Mal, now the owner of the Old Devils Bookstore in Boston, when an FBI agent comes knocking on his door one snowy day in February. She’s looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list. And the FBI agent isn’t the only one interested in this bookseller who spends almost every night at home reading. The killer is out there, watching his every move–a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone, even his recently deceased wife.
To protect himself, Mal begins looking into possible suspects . . . and sees a killer in everyone around him. But Mal doesn’t count on the investigation leaving a trail of death in its wake. Suddenly, a series of shocking twists leaves more victims dead–and the noose around Mal’s neck grows so tight he might never escape.

Living Large Book Club August Pick: All the Little Hopes
2021-08-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
Our big book for August will be All the Little Hopes, releasing July 27th from SourceBooks, penned by Leah Weiss, author of the fabulous If The Creek Don’t Rise! Leah will join us via Zoom for the live book discussion at Main Street Reads and we’ll make BOTH her great books available at the 10% off book club discount at the store. Refreshments will be served. Join us for this wonderful evening – all are welcome!!
Prefer to join by Zoom? The link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89525681604?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 895 2568 1604 Passcode: [REDACTED]
A Southern story of friendship forged by books and bees, when the timeless troubles of growing up meet the murky shadows of World War II.
Deep in the tobacco land of North Carolina, nothing’s been the same since the boys shipped off to war and worry took their place. Thirteen-year-old Lucy Brown is precocious and itching for adventure. Then Allie Bert Tucker wanders into town, an outcast with a puzzling past, and Lucy figures the two of them can solve any curious crime they find–just like her hero, Nancy Drew.
Their chance comes when a man goes missing, a woman stops speaking, and an eccentric gives the girls a mystery to solve that takes them beyond the ordinary. Their quiet town, seasoned with honeybees and sweet tea, becomes home to a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. More men go missing. And together, the girls embark on a journey to discover if we ever really know who the enemy is.
Lush with Southern atmosphere, All The Little Hopes is the story of two girls growing up as war creeps closer, blurring the difference between what’s right, what’s wrong, and what we know to be true.
LEAH WEISS is a Southern writer born in North Carolina and raised in the foothills of Virginia. Her debut novel If the Creek Don’t Rise was released in August of 2017. Her short stories have been published in The Simple Life magazine, Every Day Fiction and Deep South Magazine. You can contact her on her website leahweiss.com.

Third Thursday: Music and Fun for All!
2021-08-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
THIS MONTH: “SUMMER in SUMMERVILLE” is the theme… We’ll offer up some cooling treats for visiting readers!
On the third Thursday of each month Historic Downtown Summerville transforms into a special marketplace featuring local entertainment, craft vendors and artisans, to complement the extended hours of eclectic shops, boutiques and restaurants.
Enjoy partying out on the square, sales and treats at Main Street Reads, and singer/ songwriter/guitarist Mike Kaltofen keeping the vibe cool and festive as we enjoy our downtown community and plenty of book love.
See you on Main Street!

Bookstore Romance Day
2021-08-21 10:00 - 18:00 | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
August 21st is the third annual Bookstore Romance Day and we’ll be celebrating here with some spicy treats and hot romance authors!
Headlining the event at Main Street Reads will be Dorothy McFalls with two stellar romance novels: The Marriage List and The Nude – don’t miss this special signing from 2-4 pm Saturday!

Official Bookstore Romance Day Ambassador(s):
Kit Rocha: Deal with the Devil

Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Virtual Event
2021-08-22 15:00 - 16:30
Join in for this cool virtual Bookclub + Author Event for Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth by Kate Greene, produced by #ReadingWomenLeaders!
#ReadingWomenLeaders is a bookclub series, showcasing women leaders in every aspect of life. Prioritizing autobiographies to center the voices of the women themselves, the club reads and learns about women in the areas of the arts, politics, nature, sciences, and sports, among others.
Independent bookstores and readers from around the world are welcome to participate in this free series. Learn more HERE.
Register to Attend HERE

Kate Greene was the crew writer and second-in-command on the first simulated Mars mission for the NASA-funded HI-SEAS project. A poet, essayist, and former laser physicist, her work has appeared in multiple publications and radio shows. She’s taught writing at Columbia University, San Francisco State University, and the Tennessee Prison for Women. She lives in New York City.
Kate will be joining the Reading Women Leaders Bookclub on August 22, 2021 and you’re invited to meet the author!

About ONCE UPON A TIME I LIVED ON MARS

When it comes to Mars, the focus is often on how to get there: the rockets, the engines, the fuel. But upon arrival, what will it actually be like?
In 2013, Kate Greene moved to Mars. That is, along with five fellow crew members, she embarked on NASA’s first HI-SEAS mission, a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i. For four months she lived, worked, and slept in an isolated geodesic dome, conducting a sleep study on her crew mates and gaining incredible insight into human behavior in tight quarters, as well as the nature of boredom, dreams, and isolation that arise amidst the promise of scientific progress and glory.
In Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars, Greene draws on her experience to contemplate humanity’s broader impulse to explore. The result is a twined story of space and life, of the standard, able-bodied astronaut and Greene’s brother’s disability, of the lag time of interplanetary correspondences and the challenges of a long-distance marriage, of freeze-dried egg powder and fresh pineapple, of departure and return.
By asking what kind of wisdom humanity might take to Mars and elsewhere in the Universe, Greene has written a remarkable, wide-ranging examination of our time in space right now, as a pre-Mars species, poised on the edge, readying for launch.

Pulpwood Queens Book Club August Pick: What's Not Said
2021-08-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St., Summerville, SC, 29483, United States
Join us for an engaging discussion WITH the author, Valerie Taylor, of What’s Not Said, AND get the first look at the next in her lineup – What’s Not True, releasing just before the club meets! Treats will be served and all are welcome! The book is available at the book club 10% discount and signed bookplates are here at the store – PLUS every new attendee gets a FREE book club journal!
Prefer to join in via Zoom? Here are the Zoom details (some will join in via Zoom, some live at the store – your choice!):
Topic: Pulpwood Queens: What’s Not Said with Valerie Taylor Time: Aug 26, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87043665355?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 870 4366 5355 Passcode: [REDACTED]
“Taylor’s dialogue is snappy and contemporary . . . A witty and often amusing family drama.”–Kirkus Reviews
Kassie O’Callaghan’s meticulous plans to divorce her emotionally abusive husband, Mike, and move in with Chris, a younger man she met five years ago on a solo vacation in Venice, are disrupted when she finds out Mike has chronic kidney disease–something he’s concealed from her for years. Once again, she postpones her path to freedom–at least, until she pokes around his pajama drawer and discovers his illness is the least of his deceits.
But Kassie is no angel, either. As she struggles to justify her own indiscretions, the secret lives she and Mike have led collide head-on, revealing a tangled web of sex, lies, and DNA. Still, mindful of her vows, Kassie commits to helping her husband find an organ donor. In the process, she uncovers a life-changing secret. Problem is, if she reveals it, her own immorality will be exposed, which means she has an impossible decision to make: Whose life will she save–her husband’s or her own?
Meet The Author
Valerie Taylor was born and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. She graduated twice from Sacred Heart University in CT with a B.S. Business Administration and an MBA. She climbed the proverbial ladder in her early years at Xerox and then helped launch Executive Development Associates, a start-up executive education and coaching firm. There she dabbled in writing business communications and newsletters.
Her writing career took off when she joined Optima Group, and then later Clarion Brand Communications, where she focused on branding and crafting dozens of retirement planning programs for banks, mutual fund companies, and insurance companies. Because of her reputation in this niche, Russell Investments recruited her to join the firm in Washington State. During her ten-year tenure there, Valerie led the firm’s defined contribution marketing efforts for both pre- and post-retirement investment programs.
After a Rick Steves’ tour to Venice, Florence, and Rome, Valerie retired and returned home to CT in 2016 where her children have grown up and settled. When she’s not writing, reading, practicing tai chi or cheering for the Boston Red Sox or the New England Patriots, she’s sharing her wisdom and values with her granddaughter, who’s growing up way too fast.
Her debut novel, What’s Not Said, launched in September 2020. The sequel, What’s Not True, will be published on August 24, 2021.

Memoir & Mimosas: Celebrating National Memoir Day
2021-08-31 15:30 - 17:30
Did you know that Tuesday, August 31st, is National Memoir Day? (Okay, neither did we, but it is, and yeah, that’s a thing!)
To celebrate, we’re doing our very own Happy Hour – free mimosas and treats and the chance to meet local award-winning authors Kathryn Taylor, who penned “Two Minus One” and Pattie Welek Hall, author of “A Mother’s Dance.”
Come on out and join us for some chit-chat and a memoir or two (all memoirs will be 10% off that day!)
