Join us tonight from the comfort of your own home, drink in hand, for a lively discussion with debut author Deborah Clark Vance to talk about her writing journey to bring the world Sylvie Denied. Then, join us LIVE Saturday morning for a special book signing with visiting author Eileen Harrison Sanchez in conversation with local author Mark Epstein. Grab signed copies of their books, too!
More info on both events below, and scroll down too for our latest reading recommendations!
TONIGHT’s Virtual Launch Party:
Deborah Clark Vance with Sylvie Denied
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Main Street Reads VIRTUAL PARTY
Join us TONIGHT to celebrate the launch of Sylvie Denied by Deborah Clark Vance! Deborah will join us from her Ohio home via Zoom to chat about what brought her to write this fascinating book. We’ll do a Q&A with Deborah and then participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of the author. The Zoom link and password are below!
PLUS: Order the book from us and get a signed bookplate from the author!
About the Book:
As she enters adulthood in the turbulent 1970s, Sylvie thinks the way to change a violent world is to become a peaceful person. Yet she slowly sees how a childhood trauma thwarts her peaceful intentions and leads her to men with a dark side – including Enzo, the man she marries. Even as his behavior becomes increasingly volatile, she believes she can make things better with love and understanding. But finally living in terror. Sylvie must find a way to escape with her daughter and a way to claim her place in the world.
Here’s How to Join!
At 7:00 pm, Join Zoom Meeting at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87404532011?pwd=VzZwcTJ1WG1iMTZ4anVPSE1PR0dqZz09
Meeting ID: 874 0453 2011
Passcode: 156750
SATURDAY: Meet the Author!
Eileen Harrison Sanchez with Freedom Lessons
May 15 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Main Street Reads, 115 S. Main St.
Summerville, SC + Google Map
On Saturday, we’re thrilled to host award-winning author Eileen Harrison Sanchez at Main Street Reads to discuss her novel, Freedom Lessons. She’ll be joined by author Mark Epstein (Pathfinder) for a frank discussion about the book and the state of education these days!
Told alternately, by Colleen, an idealistic young white teacher; Frank, a black high school football player; and Evelyn, an experienced black teacher, Freedom Lessons is the story of how the lives of these three very different people intersect in a rural Louisiana town in 1969.
Colleen enters into the culture of the rural Louisiana town with little knowledge of the customs and practices. She is compelled to take sides after the school is integrated–an overnight event for which the town’s residents are unprepared, and which leads to confusion and anxiety in the community–and her values are tested as she seeks to understand her black colleagues, particularly Evelyn. Why doesn’t she want to integrate the public schools?
Frank, meanwhile, is determined to protect his mother and siblings after his father’s suspicious death–which means keeping a secret from everyone around him.
Based on the author’s experience teaching in Louisiana in the late sixties, this heartfelt, unflinching novel about the unexpected effects of school integration during that time takes on the issues our nation currently faces regarding race, unity, and identity.
Freedom Lessons – A Novel will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction and those interested in a broader view of our current civil rights and public school challenges.History could guide us if we would only listen.
Freedom Lessons – A Novel is a fictionalized version of the year Eileen spent teaching in a rural Louisiana town in the late 1960s. Her life’s work has been as an advocate for free, appropriate and respectful educational opportunity for all students. She retired after a forty-year career in public education.
See you Saturday!
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