Past & Future Fun

Before we take a journey back in time to a brilliant weekend reading at Malvern Books, let’s leap boldly into the future: tomorrow night we’re hosting our second annual birthday party in honor of the late, great poet laureate of Hyde Park, Albert Huffstickler, and you should most certainly join us for poetry, merriment, and festive snacks! Last year’s party was a wonderful celebration of all things Huff, and we’re looking forward to continuing the tradition tomorrow.

And now, back to our Saturday night… we were thrilled to be hosting a reading with Joanne Fox Phillips and Peter J. Story (below), two debut novelists and first-time readers!

Peter J Story and Joanne Fox Phillips

Joanne came all the way from Tulsa to share excerpts from Revenge of the Cube Dweller, an engrossing caper starring amateur sleuth Tanzie Lewis, who uncovers all manner of corporate fraud and finagling at a powerful oil and gas corporation. Joanne herself is the chief audit executive for an oil and gas company… but luckily her fictional imaginings have not got her into any trouble at the day job.

And Peter was reading from Things Grak Hates, a satirical allegory featuring a rather self-absorbed pre-historic nomad. It’s an entertaining and thought-provoking read (and perhaps not for the faint of heart; one reader apparently reported that it made her physically ill—but she still loved the book). Spoiler alert: one of the things Grak really hates is olives, and his attempt to banish them from his world leads to all sorts of chaos.

Thanks to Joanne and Peter for a thoroughly enjoyable evening… and we look forward to hearing a lot more from you both in the future!