PAST EVENTS
2008 Events
Saturday, September 20th - Booklovers Bookstore was proud to be a major sponsor of The Aiken Children's Book Festival! On Saturday, September 20th at the Aiken Technical College, there was over forty children's authors, illustrators and storytellers.
2007 Events
Thursday, January 25th, 2007 - Mystery author Charles Todd is the pen name for the writing team of Charles and his mother Carolyn, who write the Ian Rutledge mysteries. Carolyn Todd was in Aiken on Thursday, January 25th, and the tour was sponsored by their publisher, Harper Collins
* Carolyn was the guest of the USCA Academy of Life Long Learning.
* Carolyn was be the guest of The Aiken Technical College.
Following is a little about each book taken from a news release. Having read all of them, I can say they are worth the time!
The Washington Post Book World called the Ian Rutledge mysteries "one of the best historical series being written today."
Charles Todd
Charles Todd is the mother/son team of Charles and Caroline Todd. Their Inspector Rutledge Series is set in post World War I England. In 1914, Ian Rutledge left a brilliant career at Scotland Yard to fight in the Great War. Now, in 1919, he is back, burdened with a heavy secret: he is suffering from shell shock. With him almost constantly is the cynical, taunting voice of the young Scots soldier, Hamish MacLeod, he was forced to execute on the battlefield for refusing an order. The novels have received international acclaim. There are nine titles in the series. The latest is A False Mirror on sale in January, 2007. They, also, have a stand-alone novel, The Murder Stone.
Their first book A TEST OF WILLS (1996) was described by the New York Times Book Review as "A harrowing psychological drama…SUPERB". In a Warwickshire village, a popular retired military officer has been murdered, and the chief suspect is, unhappily for the Inspector, a much-decorated war hero and a friend of the Prince of Wales. Nominated for the John Creasey Award in the UK, other nominations the Edgar Award and an Anthony. The Todd’s won the Barry Gardiner Award from the Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Dilys Award. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association listed A Test of Wills one of the 100 favorite mysteries of the 20th Century. It received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a New York Times Notable Book of the year.
WINGS OF FIRE (1998) also won the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association Dilys Award and was short listed for first Ellis Peters Mystery Award in the UK. The New York Times selected it as a Notable Book of the Year. The Library Journal described, WINGS OF FIRE as "Rich and beautifully nuanced". Rutledge is sent to Cornwall, England, where three members of the same family have died under suspicious circumstances. Among the dead is Olivia, the reclusive writer whose war poetry gave Ian Rutledge a handhold on sanity while he fought in the trenches of France. O. A. Manning's poems continue to be a theme in the series.
SEARCH THE DARK (1999) finds Rutledge in a small Dorset town to locate two missing children. The body of a woman, assumed to be their mother, has been found. Are the children also victims of a vicious killer? Or is there another, more political, reason for murder? Winner of the 1999 Reviewers Choice Award from the Romantic Times Magazine, The Washington Post Book World said, "Todd's Ian Rutledge mysteries are among the most intelligent and affecting being written these days".
LEGACY OF THE DEAD (2000) earned the Todd's their third The New York Times Notable book listing. This time Rutledge's superior dispatches him to Durham to question the mother of a missing young woman. The weathered remains found on a windswept Scottish mountainside may be those of her daughter, Eleanor Gray. And the killer may be someone close to Hamish. Publishers Weekly in their review of LEGACY OF THE DEAD, wrote, "Readers will continue to be captivated by Todd's portrait of the dangerously unraveling detective, and his equally incisive evocation of the grieving post-war world".
WATCHERS OF TIME (2001) is set in Osterley, a marshy Norfolk backwater. A man lies dying on a stormy autumn night. But while natural causes will claim Herbert Baker's life in a matter of hours, his last request baffles his family--why has he, a devout Protestant, demanded to see a Catholic priest for his last confession? Within a week the priest will follow him to the grave, victim of an appalling murder that opens floodgates of suspicion and dangerous secrets. According to the Washington Post Book World, Watchers of Time is "One of the best historical series being written today…in the grand tradition of English murder mysteries".
A FEARSOME DOUBT (2002) was reviewed by the New York Times Book Review, writing, "Todd raises the stakes in this series to new and nearly unbearable levels". Bantam Books noted that "Best-selling author Charles Todd has earned a special place among mystery's elite writers with his acclaimed series featuring Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge, a former soldier seeking to lay to rest the demons of his past in the aftermath of World War I. But that past bleeds into the present in a complex murder case that calls into question his own honor...and the crimes committed in the name of God, country, and righteous vengeance".
The Murder Stone (2003) is a stand-alone novel, and not a part of the Rutledge Series. It is centered on the home front in 1916, as the Great War still rages. Francesca Hatton's beloved grandfather dies on the family estate in England's isolated Exe Valley after the last of his grandsons is killed on the Somme. Before she can grieve for the man who raised her, Francesca is stunned to find an unsigned letter among his effects, cursing the Hattons and their descendants. Now a stranger has shown up on her doorstep, accusing her grandfather of being a murderer. "Family upheaval intensified by wartime tragedy,” wrote Kirkus Reviews. Francesca, like so many women of her time, is forced to develop the strength and the courage of the men who are no longer there.
A COLD TREACHERY (2005) is set in Westmorland in the midst of a blizzard. A family has been murdered, and a child is missing. Can Rutledge find him before the killer does? Or is there something--or someone--standing in his way?
A LONG SHADOW (2006) Set in 1919, Todd's excellent eighth psychological whodunit to feature the insightful but haunted Insp. Ian Rutledge picks up shortly after the harrowing events chronicled in A Cold Treachery (2005). Rutledge travels to the remote and desolate English village of Dudlington after the town constable is shot in the back with an arrow while exploring a forest shunned by the locals. The inspector suspects a connection between the attack and the disappearance of a young girl, but he finds himself in an unfamiliar role when an unknown stalker targets him, leaving ominous clues that indicate that he's vulnerable at all times. Rutledge's fragile psyche comes in for additional battering from an enigmatic woman who claims to be able to contact the dead.
A FALSE MIRROR (2007) The ninth installment in Todd's series set in post-WWI England finds Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge heading to the seaside village of Hampton Regis to defuse a hostage situation. Stephen Mallory, who served under Rutledge's command in the war and is suspected of viciously assaulting his ex-lover's husband, demands Rutledge's presence before he will release his ex-lover and other hostages. To manage the crisis, Rutledge must weather the suspicions of the local police and identify the person responsible for the assault and two subsequent murders.
Hope to see you there!
Saturday, February 17th- Hawk MacKinney will be talking and autographing his book, Moccasin Trace at 2:00 PM, at the Aiken County Public Library.
The following expert is from the book cover: “It is July of 1859, a month of sweltering dog days and feverish emotional bombast. Life is good for widower Rundell Ingram and his hazel-eyed, roan-haired son, Hamilton. Between the two of them, they take care of Moccasin Hollow, their rustic dogtrot ancestral home, a sprawling non-slave plantation in the rolling farming country outside Queensborough Towne in east Georgia. Adjoining Ingram lands is Wisteria Bend, the vast slave-holding plantation of Andrew and Corinthia Greer, their daughter Sarah, and son Benjamin.
Both families share generations of long-accepted traditions, and childhood playmates are no longer children. The rangy, even-tempered Norman-Scottish young Hamilton is smitten with Sarah, who has become an enticing capricious beauty—the young lovers more in love with each passing day, and only pleasant times ahead of them.
But a blood tide of war is sweeping across the South, a tide that might be impossible to stand before.”
Moccasin Trace is part love story, part southern family saga and part Civil War history. It is set in east Georgia starting in 1859 and going through the Civil War. Moccasin Trace is a gripping novel that bring the era to life. It will make you laugh and cry and feel that you have lived during that turbulent period. Moccasin Trace is historical fiction well worth the time it takes to read it.
2006 EventsMarch 30th and 31st, 2006 - Mary Triola author of Caroline Rose, Merlin's Door and Children of the Dream spoke to the Academy of Lifelong Learning at USCA, 3pm.She also appeared at Jefferson Elementary and Aiken Middle School on Thursday, and Lavelle McCampbell Middle School and Millbrook Elementary School on Friday.March 24th, 2006 - Sherry Fair and Spatz appeared at North Aiken Elementary School.
March 23rd & 24th, 2006 - Vonda Skinner Skelton author of Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island and Bitsy and the Mystery at Amelia Island spoke at the Academy of Lifelong Learning at USCA, 3pm on the 23rd, as well as at St Mary's, Mead Hall, and the Aiken County Public Library. She taught an adult writing seminar at the library. On the 24th, she spoke at Redcliffe Elementary and Clearwater Elementary.
March 16th, 2006 - Charlie Geer, author of Outbound: The Curious Secession of Latter-Day Charleston spoke at the Academy of Lifelong Learning at 3pm.
March 9th, 2006 - William Rawlings Jr author of many books, including The Rutherford Cipher spoke at the Academy of Lifelong Learning at USCA, 3pm.
February 23rd, 2006 - Susan McBride read from her new book The Lone Star Lonely Hearts Club at 7pm at the Aiken County Public Library.
2005 Events
December 10th - Booklovers Christmas Open House! - Mystery Author Randy Rawls, Comedy Author Jan Holt, and Children's Author Sherry Fair & Spatz were our honored guests. We had Children's Story Time, refreshments, door prizes and special sales!
December 3rd, 2005 - Charlie Geer author of OUTBOUND:
The Curious Secession of Latter-Day Charleston spoke at the Aiken County Public Library at 2pm.
November 13th Gail Karwoski, author of Water Beds: Sleeping in the Ocean a sweet bedtime book about how marine mammals sleep in the ocean. She was at the Aiken County Public Library.
November 1st -Randy Rawls and Jan Holt spoke with the Academy of Lifelong Learning at USCA
October 20th and 21st -Vonda Skinner Skelton, author of
Bitsy and the Mystery of Tybee Island & Bitsy and the Mystery at Amelia Island appearing
at JD Lever Elementary School, Mossy Creek Elementary Schoolamd Booklovers Bookstore (4-6pm) on the 20th and at Chukker Creek Elementary School, Byrd Elementary School and Booklovers Bookstore(4-5pm) on the 21st.
October 15th- Kathy Steel author of Rocks that Float appeared at the Aiken County Public Library.
October 18th & 19th- Mary Triola Author of Merlin's Door and Children of the Dream. On the 18th, Mary spoke at North Augusta Middle School, Paul Knox Middle School and at the Friends of the Aiken County Public Library where she played her harp. On the 19th was at Kennedy Middle School, East Aiken Elementary and Booklovers Bookstore (4-6pm).
October 18th- Karin Gillespie spoke to the Friends of the Aiken County Public Library at 6pm at the Aiken County Public Library.
October 8th, 2005 - Nina Nidiffer author of Un-Natural Disaster: Stories of Survival after Graniteville Tragedy. Nina spoke with great feeling at the Aiken County Public Library.
September 12th & 13th - Amadeus the Traveling Dog appeared at JD Lever Elementary, Mossy Creek Elementary, Chukker Creek Elementary, North Aiken Elementary, Storytime at the Gardens and Aiken County Public Library.
July 16th, 2005 - Harry Potter Party! Games, Costume Party, Hogwarts'
Style Treats, activities and fun for all ages!
June 24-25th, 2005- Vonda Skinner Skelton, author of
Bitsy
and the Mystery of Tybee Island & Bitsy and the Mystery at Amelia Island appeared
at the North Augusta Library
April 22th - 26th, 2005 -Mary Triola,
author of Merlin's Door - Aiken County Public Library and local schools. She
also played music at the Highland Games!
March 29th & 30th, 2005- Janet Slusser is the author and illustrator
of Smokey and the Big Snow, a beautiful children's book - Booklovers
Bookstore and local schools
February 18th, 2005 - Mary Triola,
author of Merlin's Door. Local schools and Aiken County Public
Library
January 21st, 2005- Amadeus the Traveling
Dog, author of Friendship Rules, Aloha Adventure, and
The Mystery of the Golden Pearls. He appeared at local elementary
schools.
2004 Events
February 3 & 4, 2004 - Vonda Skinner Skelton, author of
Bitsy and the Mystery of Tybee Island - Booklovers Bookstore and 5
local schools
February 27, 2004- Carolyn Hart and
Gwen Hunter, both wonderful
mystery authors - Booklovers Bookstore and Aiken County Public Library
March 25th, 2004 Gwen Hunter at Aiken High School and Booklovers Bookstore
March 29 & 30, 2004 - Vonda Skinner Skelton, author of
Bitsy
and the Mystery of Tybee Island - Booklovers Bookstore and local schools
April 19 & 20, 2004 - Janet Slusser is the author and illustrator
of Smokey and the Big Snow, a beautiful children's book - Booklovers
Bookstore and local schools
April 22, 2004 - Patricia Gaffney and
Kathryn Wall. Patricia Gaffney is
author of Historical Romance and Women's Fiction. Kathryn Wall is a mystery
author. Both will have new books available - Booklovers Bookstore and Aiken
County Public Library
May 11, 2004 - Charles Todd is the author of the Ian Rutledge mystery
series consisting of 7 books and his newest book The Murder Stone.
All books are set in England at the end of WWI - Aiken County Public
Library and Booklovers Bookstore.
May 20, 2004 - Janet Slusser is the author and illustrator
of Smokey and the Big Snow, a beautiful children's book - Booklovers
Bookstore and East Aiken Elementary School
June 26, 2004 - Vonda Skinner Skelton, author of
Bitsy and the Mystery of Tybee Island taught two "Writing
is Fun Workshops (age 9 - 13 and 14 - adult) at the Aiken County Public
Library.
September 18, 2004- Co-Sponsored The
Local Authors Gathering at the Aiken County Public Library
September 29, 2004 - The Dixie Divas - Patricia
Sprinkle, J L Miles, Julie Cannon and Karin
Gillespie - Aiken County Public Library
October 9, 2004 - Co-Sponsored Idella Bodie at the Aiken County
Public Library
October 19, 2004 - Charles
Todd at the Aiken County Public Library.
For more information contact Booklovers Bookstore at 803-643-3198 or Fran@Booklovers-Aiken.com
December 4, 2004 - Booklovers Christmas Party! 3-6pm We will have Randy
Rawls, author of Jake's Burn, Joseph's Kidnapping,
Jade's Photos, and Jingle's Christmas.
2003 Events
April 26, 2003 - Stephen
Euin Cobb, author of Plague at Redhook and Bones
Burnt Black!
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