August

• Due to several major scheduling conflicts, Hudson's Harry Potter Birthday Bash has been postponed until late Fall, when we will celebrate the release of the sixth movie, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. The HP Committee is very excited about this change - we're planning a Pre-Release Party, which will involve many things Harry Potter, AND the opportunity to enter a drawing to win one of five or six "Red Carpet Packages" for the movie release. Date still to be determined - late October or early November.
• Friday, August 8, 6:30-8 PM - Join us in welcoming religion journalist and author Wendy Murray as she autographs and speaks about her new book A Mended And Broken Heart: The Life and Love of Francis of Assisi.
  

  In her new book, Ms. Murray provides a humanizing portrait of this complex man, arguing that to truly know Francis, one must know the most important person in his life, St. Clare of Assisi. Full of insights, the book is based on nearly five years of research, much of it in Assisi. Murray spoke with hundreds of people, worked in the city's primary Franciscan library, and scrutinized all the earliest sources related to Francis along with those written by Francis himself. At the heart of the book is his relationship with Clare. It also describes Francis' pilgrimage to Rome, his visit with the sultan during the Fifth Crusade and the revolt within the Franciscan order. Today, St. Francis of Assisi continues to carry universal appeal. This book will offer inspiration to all spiritual seekers.
  Wendy Murray holds an MA in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has written numerous books on religious topics and is a former regional reporter in Honduras for Time Magazine. She was until recently a senior writer for Christianity Today. She live in Boston, Massachusetts.

• Tuesday, August 12, 7 PM (Hudson Library) - Meet author and forensic specialist Lisa Black, who will sign her new book Takeover.
  

  The Learned Owl Book Shop has joined forces with the Twinsburg and Stow-Munroe Falls public libraries and The Hudson Library & Historical Society to attract well-known authors to the area and promote the pleasure of reading. The first event of the consortium, dubbed "Route 91 – Reader’s Row", is scheduled for August 12th at 7 PM at The Hudson Library & Historical Society. HarperCollins author and forensic specialist Lisa Black will discuss her new thriller Takeover, which is scheduled for release August 5th. This program is free and no registration is required. For further information, call the Hudson Library's reference desk at 330.653.6658 ext. 1010 or visit the library's website at hudsonlibrary.org. (Watch Lisa talk about her book on YouTube...)
  Takeover is an exciting hostage drama which takes place within the confines of the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland. Readers will recognize many familiar locales among Takeover's pages. Lisa Black spent five years as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office analyzing trace evidence and crime scenes and is currently performing the same work in Florida. She is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts and is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics. She is also a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

• Friday, August 22, 7-8 PM - As part of our Friday Fresh Voices series, author Sandy Mitchell will sign her book Cleveland's Little Italy, an Images of America book from Arcadia Publishing.
  

  Located adjacent to elegant park-like Lake View Cemetery, Little Italy has been a strong Cleveland neighborhood since the late 1800s. Not only is Little Italy home to Cleveland's oldest restaurant, Guarino's, but it also still possesses charm, culture, and aesthetic beauty. In over 200 vintage photographs, Sandy Mitchell tells the story of one ethnic Cleveland neighborhood's rise, slump and re-emergence as a lively community and a tourist mecca.
  Sandy Mitchell is a full-time writer and lifelong Clevelander. Among other projects, she writes and edits the Cleveland pages for About.com. She also writes about Cleveland's attractions and events for Grandparents.com. Sandy's work has appeared in a number of print publications and Web sites, including "Life in Italy," "The Better Drink" ezine, and Mahogany Magazine.

• Saturday, August 23, 11 AM-1 PM - Popular fantasy novelist Cinda Chima returns with The Dragon Heir, the third book in her popular Warrior Heir series. Call now to reserve your copy.
  

  The Dragon Heir is the thrilling conclusion to the Heir series. For centuries, wizards have avoided making war on each other for fear of waking the legendary dragon that sleeps at Raven's Ghyll. But it is a new age. Everything changes during a raid on the Ghyll, when the magical stone called the Dragonheart is stolen. It is rumored to be both a deadly weapon and the source of power for all the magical guilds. Follow along as Dragonheart casues moral compasses to spin out of control as a final battle storms through a town which was originally meant to be a sanctuary. Jason Haley battles his own demons as he seeks revenge against those who murdered his father. Seph McCauley assumes more and more responsibility as he struggles to keep the Roses at bay. The warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson train for a battle that they hope never comes, while their Anaweir friends Will and Fitch contribute their technical knowledge to the defense of the Sanctuary. Over Seph's objections, the moody and mysterious Madison Moss has gone home to the hills she loves and hates. She sees in the coming battle the destruction of everything she cares about. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Madison may hold the key to the survival of the Sanctuary at Trinity, if the Weirguilds can win her support before she's found and taken by the other side. A great cast of believable characters and plenty of action/adventure make this a great read.
  
  Cinda Williams Chima is a graduate of the University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University. She has been a workshop leader and speaker at writing conferences, including the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference, the Western Reserve Writers' Conference, and the Skyline Writing Conference. She frequently speaks to young writers and readers at schools and libraries nationwide. Chima lives in Ohio with her family, and is always working on her next novel.