In the Bleak Midwinter - by Julia Spencer-Fleming (mystery) In this first title in the series featuring the Reverend Clare Fergusson and police chief Russ Van Alstyne, it is early December in upstate Miller's Kill, New York.  Clare is the brand new pastor of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, following a career as an army helicopter pilot.  Late one evening, she finds an infant left on the church doorstep with a note offering the child up for adoption to a childless couple in her congregation.  At the hospital, Clare meets Chief Van Alstyne and they immediately become friends.  She invites herself to ride patrol with him the next night and, together, they find the dead body of a young woman who appears to be the mother of the abandoned infant.  Now Clare and Russ have to find the father and the murderer.  Clare's snooping and willingness to help at any cost bring her to a very real threat to her life, which upsets Russ more than he cares to admit.  Russ and Clare are well-developed characters and the book gives readers a good sense of place.  This book won several mystery award when it was released in 2001.
		When We Meet Again - by Victoria Alexander (paperback romance) Pamela Effington, in Venice and wearing a mask to keep her identity a secret,  risks one night of indiscretion in the arms of a prince.  Four years later, Prince Alexei finds himself exiled in London and residing in a townhouse which Pamela has recently inherited.  Pamela has been traveling throughout Europe with her Aunt Millicent because of a recent scandal, but is now ready to reclaim her place in London society.  Residing in the same townhouse with the prince becomes a trying situation until Aunt Millicent devises a scheme to fake a betrothal between the two.  However, Pamela and Alexei still cherish their memories of that night in Venice and, soon, the engagement borders on reality.  Pamela is determined to have him, but Alexei fears his exile leaves him little to offer in marriage.  This regency romance has a lot of humor and will remind readers of the early works by Amanda Quick.
		If You Could See Me Now - Cecelia Ahern (fiction) When Elizabeth Egan was eleven, her mother abandoned the family in their small Irish village.  Elizabeth's father is devastated by the loss and it is up to Elizabeth to hold the family together, including caring for younger sister Saoirse.  Years later, she is forced to leave her life as a high-profile designer in New York to return home to care for her nephew Luke when Saoirse takes off as their mother did.  Elizabeth, a woman who relishes control and order in her life, is distressed when Luke tells her he has an imaginary friend, Ivan.  Only Ivan isn't imaginary - he's a very real friend from "the land of Ekam Eveileb."  When Elizabeth meets Ivan, she mistakes him for the father of one of Luke's friends and is surprised how well they get along.  Ivan is surprised, too, because he's not normally seen by adults.  But he's intrigued with Elizabeth and, with his help, Elizabeth's orderly and organized life is turned upside down.  She begins to realize that "the extras that make life" are exactly what she's been missing.  Ivan encourages her inner child to come forth and she begins to enjoy life and can forgive the circumstances that made her grow up too fast.

Please note: The accuracy of the information below is valid at the time the newsletter is distributed. Please always contact the Readers Advisory Desk for the most up-to-date information on any of these programs.

National Library Week Kick-Off
Sunday, April 15 – Noon to 3 p.m.
Main Lobby, Central Library
National Library Week (April 15 – 21) is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries, librarians and library workers, and to promote library use and support.  Come celebrate with us…Hollywood style!  Our special events will highlight famous titles that have gone from the written word to the silver screen.  Our open house this afternoon will feature games in the main lobby, animated feature films in the Audiovisual Department, drawings for prizes, and showtunes performed by pianist Wayne Richards.  In addition, we will be having a special booksale in the foyer, with proceeds benefiting the Illinois Children’s Home and Aid Society. 

Have you ever dreamed of having your face on a poster?  Enter our drawing on that day and you may be one of several lucky winners featured on an ALA READ poster to be placed on display in the library for six months. You will also receive your own personal copy. You can enter with family, friends or individually.  All you have to do is answer five simple questions designed to provide us with your opinions on library resources and services.  Everyone will get a prize just for answering our survey and have their name included in the drawing for the READ poster.

Creating Realistic “Kick Butt” Characters
Wednesday, April 18 – 7-9 p.m.
Rasmussen North Meeting Room
Does the hero of your novel favor karate or judo, kendo or kung fu?  Third degree black belt and author Kelle Riley will provide a martial artist’s primer to help you create believable scenes and compelling characters – without all the inaccurate clichés.  Kelle will discuss characters with awareness and confidence, typical attacks and defenses, common mistakes authors make in action scenes, and how martial arts training sculpts a character's world view and outlook.  Kelle will also demonstrate some of the weaponry used in the martial arts and explain both "empty hand" self-defense and defense with "found" weapons.  Copies of her book, Dangerous Affairs, will be available for purchase and signing after the event.

Adult Summer Reading Program – Launch into Reading! 
Sign-up begins June 1 and runs through Aug. 31.
No matter in which direction your reading tastes lean, all systems are “go” for a summer filled with great reads.  Each participant in the reading program must read eight (8) titles by the end of August.  Everyone is eligible to participate in the reading program and receive a gift for completing the reading requirements.  However, only STDL patrons are eligible for the grand prize drawing at the program’s end.  Sign-up begins June 1 at the Central Library Readers’ Advisory Desk or at the branch libraries.  For more information, contact our Readers’ Advisory Desk at (847) 923-3189.

The “Gotta Write” AuthorFest
Saturday, June 23 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rasmussen Rooms
For the third year, authors from all over the Chicagoland and surrounding areas will lead panel discussions on writing and publishing. Copies of the authors’ works will be available for purchase and signing throughout the day. A complete list of discussion topics and panel participants will be available at the Readers’ Advisory Desk and branch libraries. For more information, please call Susan Gibberman at (847) 923-3339.

Cannell is an avid spokesperson on Dyslexia, and is a third generation Californian who currently resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Marcia, and their three children.

Shane Scully series:

The Tin Collectors (2001)
The Viking Funeral (2002)
Hollywood Tough (2003)
Vertical Coffin (2004)
Cold Hit (2005)
White Sister (2006)

Other novels by Cannell:

The Plan (1996)
Final Victim (1997)
King Con (1998)
Riding The Snake (1999)
The Devil's Workshop (2000)
Runaway Heart (2003)

Elmore Leonard started out writing westerns, then turned his talents to crime fiction.  One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Leonard has written dozens novels, most of them bestsellers, such as Glitz, Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and Rum Punch.  Unlike most genre writers, however, Leonard is taken seriously by the literary crowd.

What’s Leonard’s secret to being both popular and respectable?  Perhaps you’ll find some clues in his 10 tricks for good writing (excerpted from the New York Times article, “Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle”):

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said”…he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. 
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

His most important rule is one that sums up the 10 -  "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."
 

Some tips on dealing with rejection:

Rejection is part of any writer’s life.  If you want to make it as a writer, you will need to learn to face rejection bravely, gracefully, and frequently.  Remember that, if you receive a rejection, they are rejecting the manuscript, not you.

Three tips for coping with rejection:

1. Laugh at your rejections.
2. Learn from your rejections.
3. Always have a new project underway, something that will give you hope no matter how many rejections come your way for the previous project.

Take consolation in knowing the rejection history of these writers and works:

1. Dune by Frank Herbert – 13 rejections
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling – 14 rejections
3. Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis – 17 rejections
4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle – 29 rejections 
5. Carrie by Stephen King – over 30 rejections 
6. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – 38 rejections
7. A Time to Kill by John Grisham – 45 rejections 
8. Louis L’Amour, author of over 100 western novels, received over 300 rejections before publishing his first book
9. Ray Bradbury, author of over 100 science fiction novels and stories, received around 800 rejections before selling his first story
10. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter was rejected so universally the author decided to self-publish the book.

From rejection slip for George Orwell's Animal Farm:  “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A.”

From rejection slip for Norman MacLean’s A River Runs Through It:  “These stories have trees in them.”

From rejection slip for article sent to the San Francisco Examiner to Rudyard Kipling:  “I'm sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just don't know how to use the English language."

From rejection slip for The Diary of Anne Frank:  “The girl doesn't, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.”

Rejection slip for Dr. Seuss’s And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street:   “Too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.”

Rejection from a Chinese economic journal:  “We have read your manuscript with boundless delight.  If we were to publish your paper, it would be impossible for us to publish any work of lower standard.  And as it is unthinkable that in the next thousand years we shall see its equal, we are, to our regret, compelled to return your divine composition, and to beg you a thousand times to overlook our short sight and timidity.”

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MINI DISPLAYS

The following is a list of upcoming films based on novels, books and plays, now playing or coming soon to a movie theater near you:

Playing or opening this quarter:

Zodiac – based on the non-fiction book, Zodiac Unmasked, by Robert Graysmith
300 – based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller & Lynn Varley
Bridge to Terabithia – novel by Katherine Paterson
Shooter – novel (Point of Impact) by Stephen Hunter
The Namesake – novel by Jhumpa Lahiri
Mimsey – based on the short story Mimsey Were the Borogroves by Lewis Paget
Meet the Robinsons – based on the children’s book, A Day With Wilbur Robinson, by William Joyce
Peaceful Warrior - based on the book by Dan Millman
The Hoax - novel by Clifford Irving
The Nanny Diaries - novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Invisible - based on the novel Den Osynlige by Mats Wahl
Next - based on the novel The Golden Man by Philip K. Dick
The Last Legion – novel by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
Jindabyne - based on the short story So Much Water So Close to Home by Raymond Carver
Away From Her - based on the short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Alice Munro
The Treatment – novel by Daniel Menaker
Bug - based on the play by Tracy Letts
Paprika - based on the novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui
Nancy Drew - based on the characters created by Carolyn Keene
Evening - novel by Susan Minot
The Martian Child – novel by David Gerrold

Coming in July:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - novel by J. K. Rowling
1408 - based on the short story by Stephen King
Stardust – novel by Neil Gaiman
 

Although the Adult Summer Reading Program, Launch into Reading, isn't specifically space-related, here are some interesting facts about space travel and the universe around us:

The planet Venus does not tilt as it revolves around the Sun so, consequently, it has no seasons.

Of the twelve NASA Gemini missions (1964-1966), only one capsule was actually named.  Astronaut Gus Grissom (a veteran of both the Mercury and Gemini missions who died in the preflight simulation of Apollo I in 1967) named the capsule "Molly Brown."

Earth was, in fact, named after the Roman goddess of the land, Terra.  Many languages today still use her name for Earth, e.g., la terre in French, la terra in Spanish, etc.

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, is tipped on its side so that at any moment one pole is pointed towards the Sun.  At the poles, a day lasts for 42 Earth years, followed by an equally long night.  Whereas, a day on the planet Mercury is twice as long as its year.  Mercury rotates very slowly, but revolves around the Sun in slightly less than 88 days.

“A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life."

--  Norman Cousins,
political journalist and author, 1915-1990