About the Live and In Person Event

Are you ready for a fun afternoon of live, in-person Book Bingo? Well, get out your bingo cards, then, because it’s time to join New York Times and international bestselling author Jenna Blum, together with nine more book club favorite authors at the Carlsbad City Library to do just that!  If you are already familiar with our popular Southern California series that features NovelNetwork® authors, you will understand why we receive so many requests to expand the program nationwide. This is the first time in over two years that we have hosted a live and in-person bingo, and we can’t wait to play with you!

 This FREE event features presentations by book club favorite authors: Jenna Blum, Georgie Blalock, Rich Farrell, Nicola Harrison, Aimee Liu, Jan Moran, Isla Morley, Kaira Rouda, Judith Teitelman, and Wendy Voorsanger, an interactive game of book bingo, and fun prizes, and all you have to do is show up (and why not invite your book club friends and fellow readers to join in as well) to learn about great new reads to add to your to be read list).

While this event is free, your book(s) purchase provides much-needed support to these authors whose book tours and events have been cancelled due to COVID-19. Books will be available for purchase at the event or, better yet, why not pre-order your book(s) below to receive a 10-20% discount, and we will deliver your books to you at the event for signing!

Your Adventure includes a keynote presentation by Jenna Blum, three panels with all nine other book club favorite authors, an interactive game of Book Bingo (bingo cards provided at event), Q&A, prizes, and the opportunity to meet the authors in person. Pre-order your book(s) below for pickup at the event and receive a 10-20% discount, or purchase your book(s) at the event. Only books pre-ordered below or at the event are eligible for signing.

About the Keynote Author and Book

Jenna Blum is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of novels Those Who Save Us (a New York Times bestseller, the # 1 bestselling novel in Holland in 2011, and the winner of the 2005 Ribalow Prize, awarded by Hadassah Magazine and adjudged by Elie Wiesel), The Stormchasers (an international bestseller, a Borders Book Club Selection, a feature in French Elle, and a Target Pic) and The Lost Family (a Target Pick and received starred reviews from all four trades: Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal), as well as the novella “The Lucky One” in the anthology Grand Central. Jenna is also one of Oprah’s Top 30 Women Writers and CEO/ CoFounder of literary social media company A Mighty Blaze.

To schedule a book club visit with Jenna or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

About the Authors and Books

Georgie Blalock is an award-winning author of historical fiction, whose passion for history and movie allows her to combine her different passions through historical fiction, and a healthy dose of period piece films. When not writing, she can be found prowling the non-fiction history section of the library or the British film listings on Netflix or in the dojo training for her next karate black belt rank. Georgie also writes historical romance under the name Georgie Lee.

In her new book, The Last Debutantes, they danced the night away, knowing their world was about to change forever. They were the debutantes of 1939, laughing on the outside, but knowing tragedy— and a war—was just around the corner. When Valerie de Vere Cole, the niece of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, makes her deep curtsey to the King and Queen of England, she knows she’s part of a world about to end. The daughter of a debt-ridden father and a neglectful mother, Valerie sees firsthand that war is imminent.

Nevertheless, Valerie reinvents herself as a carefree and glittering young society woman, befriending other debutantes from England’s aristocracy as well as the vivacious Eunice Kennedy, daughter of the U.S. Ambassador. Despite her social success, the world’s troubles and Valerie’s fear of loss and loneliness prove impossible to ignore. How will she navigate her new life when everything in her past has taught her that happiness and stability are as fragile as peace in our time? For the moment she will forget her cares in too much champagne and waltzes. Because very soon, Valerie knows that she must find the inner strength to stand strong and carry on through the challenges of life and love and war.

To schedule a book club visit with Georgie or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Richard Farrell is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. His work, including fiction, memoir, essays, interviews and book reviews, has appeared or is forthcoming in The Forge, Potomac Review, Hunger Mountain, New Plains Review, Upstreet, Descant, Contrary, Newfound, Numéro Cinq, and elsewhere. He teaches creative writing at Grossmont College and at San Diego Writers, Ink.

In The Falling Woman, it’s rumored one person may have survived the midair explosion of a passenger jet on a cross-country course from Washington, DC, to San Francisco. But soon she becomes a national media sensation when “the Falling Woman,” as the press dubs her, is said to have been taken to a Wichita hospital—and then to have disappeared without a trace.

Fast-paced and full of twists and surprises, The Falling Woman is a story of the irony of fate, and of which conflicting factor will prevail: the need of the government and its people to know the truth, or the right of a woman to determine how her personal story will play out.

To schedule a book club visit with Rich or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Nicola Harrison is the author of two historical fiction novels, Montauk and The Show Girl (August 10, 2021). Born and raised in England, she moved with her family to Southern California when she was 14. She is a graduate of UCLA and received her MFA from Stony Brook. Prior to writing novels she worked as a fashion journalist in New York City and now lives in Manhattan Beach, California with her husband, two sons and a high-maintenance chihuahua named Lola.

The Show Girl, her new novel, gives a glimpse of the glamorous world of the Ziegfeld Follies, through the eyes of a young midwestern woman who comes to New York City to find her destiny as a Ziegfeld Follies star. It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more―even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way.

Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy―the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways―her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.

To schedule a book club visit with Nicola or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Aimee Liu is the author of numerous bestselling novels as well as nonfiction books on medical and psychological topics. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, Ms., and many other publications. She is on the faculty of Goddard College’s MFA in Creative Writing Program at Port Townsend, WA.

In her novel, Glorious Boy, it’s 1942 and the Japanese have invaded Burma and are closing in on India. After five years, aspiring anthropologist Claire Durant and her husband Shep, a civil surgeon, must evacuate with their beloved but mysteriously mute four-year-old, Ty. They cannot, however, take Naila, the local girl whose ability to communicate with Ty has made them dangerously dependent on her. In the desperate odyssey that follows, Claire, Shep, and Naila will all take unimaginable risks while drawing deeply from their knowledge of these unique islands to save their beloved “glorious boy.”

Glorious Boy is a tale of war and devotion, longing and loss, and the power of love to prevail. A memorable and original novel, Aimee evokes every side in a multi-cultural conversation with sympathy and rare understanding.

To schedule a book club visit with Aimee or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Jan Moran is an Amazon All-Star Author and Rizzoli Bestselling author of 20th-century historical novels and heartfelt contemporary series. The Chocolatier, The Winemakers, and Scent of Triumph are stylish historical novels published in more than a dozen languages, while her Summer Beach: Seabreeze Inn is a beloved beach read series.

In Seabreeze Wedding, at the historic Seabreeze Inn, sisters Ivy and Shelly Bay are busier than ever with wedding plans of their own, although challenges threaten to derail the special events. New guests are also throwing a wedding at the inn, bringing a host of trials and chaos. As Ivy prepares the old beach house for a season of weddings, surprising discoveries from decades past arise that could change even the best of plans. RSVP now and join the party on the beach.

Seabreeze Wedding is a favorite in the beloved Summer Beach series that may also be read as a stand-alone novel. The heartwarming story is set on the sunny Southern California coastline. Visit the small town of Summer Beach now, where the bonds of friendship and love prove unbreakable. Available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, large print, and audiobook.

To schedule a book club visit with Jan or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Isla Morley grew up in South Africa during apartheid, the child of a British father and a South African mother. During the country’s State of Emergency, she graduated from Nelson Mandela University with a degree in English Literature. By 1994, she was one of the youngest magazine editors in South Africa, but left her career, country, and kin when she married an American and moved to California, where she pursued a career in non-profit work, focusing on the needs of women and children. Her debut novel, Come Sunday, was a finalist for the Commonwealth Prize and has been translated into 7 languages, and her novel, Above, was an IndieNext Pick, a Best Buzz Book and a Publishers Weekly Best New book.

Her most recent novel, The Last Blue, is a luminous narrative inspired by the fascinating real case of “the Blue People of Kentucky,” in which Isla probes questions of identity, love, and family in 1937 Appalachia.

When two government-sponsored documentarians from Cincinnati, Ohio—a writer and photographer—are dispatched to penetrate this wilderness and record what they find for President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, they happen upon Jubilee Buford, a woman whose skin is a shocking and unmistakable shade of blue. From this happenstance meeting between a woman isolated from society and persecuted her whole life, comes a mesmerizing story in which the dark shades of betrayal, prejudice, fear, and guilt, are refracted along with the incandescent hues of passion and courage. Panning across the rich rural aesthetic of eastern Kentucky, The Last Blue is a captivating love story and an intimate portrait of what it is like to be truly one of a kind.

To schedule a book club visit with Isla or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Kaira Rouda is an accomplished business leader, entrepreneur, national speaker and internationally bestselling and award-winning author. A former magazine editor, and society columnist, Kaira won the Stevie Award for Women in Business for creating the first female-focused residential real estate brand, Real Living, and growing the brand to more than 22 states before its sale to Berkshire Hathaway. Her first book, Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, led to a national speaking tour where she inspired thousands. She lives in Southern California with her husband, Congressman Harley Rouda, and her four twenty-something children.

In her soon-to-be-released novel, Somebody’s Home, Julie Jones has left her suffocating marriage. With her teenage daughter, Jess, she’s starting over. Their new house in Oceanside is the first step toward a new life. Even if it does come with the unexpected. The previous owners, a pastor, and his wife have left something―or rather someone―behind…

Tom Dean has a bitter hatred for the father who considers him a lost cause, and for the woman who’s moved into their family’s house. The only home he’s ever known. He’s never going to leave. She thinks he’ll be gone in three days, but Tom has the perfect plan. For a newly single mother and her daughter, a fresh start is the beginning of a nightmare. Before the weekend is over, somebody is going to get exactly what they deserve.

To schedule a book club visit with Kaira or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Judith Teitelman has straddled the worlds of art, literature, and business since she was a teenager and worked her first job as a salesperson at a B. Dalton / Pickwick Bookstore. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in Art History, she opened and managed Art and Architecture Books of the Twentieth Century. She began her career in the nonprofit sector in 1983, and in 1990 launched her arts and business management consulting firm working nationally with grassroots and mid-sized organizations and large institutions. She is also a mentor, trainer, and professional advisor to artists working in all disciplines, and is on the Theater School faculty at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) co-teaching Entrepreneurship. She is a regular trainer at the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership and the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), among others, and was a trainer for more than 20 years at Los Angeles’ Center for Nonprofit Management.

Guesthouse for Ganesha, a tale of love, loss, and spirit reclaimed, weaves Eastern beliefs and perspectives with Western realities and pragmatism. In 1923, seventeen-year-old Esther Grünspan arrives in Köln “with a hardened heart as her sole luggage.” Thus begins a twenty-two-year journey, woven against the backdrops of the European Holocaust and the Hindu Kali Yuga (the “Age of Darkness” when human civilization degenerates spiritually), in search of a place of sanctuary.

Throughout her travails, using cunning and shrewdness, Esther relies on her masterful tailoring skills to help mask her Jewish heritage, navigate war-torn Europe, and emigrate to India. Esther’s traveling companion and the novel’s narrator is Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God worshipped by millions for his abilities to destroy obstacles, bestow wishes, and avenge evils.

To schedule a book club visit with Judith or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

 

Born and raised on the American River, author Wendy Voorsanger has long-held an intense interest in the history of women in the West. Her debut historical novel, Prospects of a Woman, has won 10 indie literary awards, including the Independent Press Award for Western Fiction, the National Indie Excellence Award for Western Fiction, the International Book Award for Best New Fiction, the IPPY Award for Regional Fiction, and the NexGen Indie Book Awards for Regional Fiction. She earned a BA in journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a member of the Castro Writers’ Cooperative, the Lit Camp Advisory Board, the San Mateo Public Library Literary Society, and the Historical Novel Society.

A gripping and illuminating window into life in the Old West, Prospects of a Woman tells the story of one woman’s passionate quest to carve out a place for herself in the liberal and bewildering society that emerged during the California gold rush frenzy.

Elisabeth Parker comes to California from Massachusetts in 1849 with her new husband, Nate, but soon realizes he’s not the man she thought. As Nate struggles with his sexuality, Elisabeth is forced to confront her preconceived notions of family, love, and opportunity. She finds comfort in corresponding with her childhood friend back home, writer Louisa May Alcott, and spending time in the company of a mysterious Californio. Armed with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance, she sets out to determine her role in building the West, even as she comes to terms with the sacrifices she must make to achieve independence and happiness.

To schedule a book club visit with Wendy or any of our authors on NovelNetwork:

About the Carlsbad City Library

For Book Clubs or Author Live Chats

Are you in a book club, library reading group, or is your group of friends, colleagues, family members seeking fabulous authors who are excited and available to meet with you? Then you will be delighted to know that Jenna Blum, Georgie Blalock, Rich Farrell, Nicola Harrison, Aimee Liu, Jan Moran, Isla Morley, Kaira Rouda, Judith Teitelman, and Wendy Voorsanger are all members of our wonderful community of over 150 NovelNetwork authors available to meet with small groups via video chat.

NovelNetwork is the nation’s first and only match(dot)com for authors and book clubs to find each other, so check it out today. Book clubs join for free and gain access to our database of dozens of authors, from NYT and international bestsellers to debut authors, cookbook authors, mystery and non-fiction authors, and representing various regions of the United States, and even Alaska and Hawaii, all of whom want to meet with you!

To schedule a visit with Jenna, Georgie, Rich, Nicola, Aimee, Jan, Isla, Kaira, Judith, Wendy, or any of our authors, join FOR FREE  here.

Event Registration

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis only. For more information, contact the Carlsbad City Library.

While the event is free, your purchase of a book(s) below or at the event offers support to these authors whose book tours and events have been canceled during COVID.