Ellen Hunter

Saturday, July 18th, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Murder at the Bellamy Mansion!

During its one hundred and fifty year history not a single shot had been fired inside the stately Bellamy mansion. Not during the Civil War. Not in the aftermath of the war when Wilmington, the lifeline of the Confederacy, fell to Federal forces, and a Union general requisitioned Dr. Bellamy’s splendid home as a headquarters for himself and his troops. Not even during Reconstruction when lawless Carpet Baggers roamed our impoverished streets, buying up properties for pennies on the dollar.

Indeed, the only sharpshooting attempted inside the house during those troubled times of Yankee occupation was the hawking of tobacco juice into the once pristine white marble fireplaces. And most times those missed their mark.

Set on high ground above the golden Cape Fear River at the intersection of Market Street and Fifth Avenue, the splendid, white, colonnaded residence symbolized the heart and soul of Wilmington’s historic district. This had been the homeplace for the large Bellamy family, where members came together to celebrate weddings and to mourn passings. In recent times, the mansion has become a museum, a favorite tourist attraction where visitors might glimpse the grandeur of gracious times gone by. Certainly not a residence you’d suspect of hosting murder and mayhem.

But on New Year’s Day that was exactly what occurred...

About Ellen:

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter is the author of a popular mystery series set in Wilmington, NC, that features historic preservationist and old-house restorer Ashley Wilkes and her realtor sister Melanie. Ellen has had a love affair with old houses since childhood. She grew up in a house similar to Ashley’s Victorian home.

Every old house has a secret, Ellen believes, and what fun to create a gutsy, curious protagonist who reveals and resolves them all. The port city of Wilmington was selected for the setting because of her colorful history, her citizens who are dedicated to the preservation of historic homes, an active film industry, and breathtaking locales. Open one of Ellen’s books and just smell the magnolias!

Shirley Crum

Sunday, July 26th, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Paradise in Peril

An all consuming hatred ignites inside a child, and each passing year fans the flames. A promise made long ago to an old man drives another person to the point of madness. A terrorist compound in North Carolina erupts into a massive fireball. As events collide, college instructor Cathy Cleveland and her fiance, FBI agent Peter Channing find themselves thrust into the center of this firestorm. When their best friends disappear while honeymooning in Hawaii, Cathy and Peter set out on a journey of unbelievable peril. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, they hunt for the mastermind of a plot so diabolical as to be unimaginable. But what happens when the hunter become the hunted? Can they save paradise? Can they save their friends? Can they save themselves? Desperation mounts as time slips away.

About Shirley:

Shirley Lerch Crum resides in Wilmington, North Carolina, with her husband, Michael, and their seven cats and one dog. A college instructor and two-time breast cancer survivor, Shirley donates half of her royalties to the American Cancer Society through the Relay for Life. In her leisure time she enjoys swimming, boogie board surfing, walking, reading, and of course writing. Shirley was selected as one of her college's "Educators of the Year" in 2008 and has served as the college's Faculty Assembly Chair for the last four years. In addition Shirley is the choir director and Church Council Chair at her church.

Jack Riggs

Saturday, July 25th, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

The Fireman's Wife

Set in the scorching summer of 1970, on the parched earth of South Carolina's low country. The Fireman's Wife tells the deeply affecting story of Cassie Johnson, a young wife and mother who, after 15 years of marriage, can no longer ignore the nagging sense that her life has gone astray. It will take a journey back to the North Carolina Mountains where there will be unexpected battles she will have to fight before Cassie will find the true love that has always surrounded her, a love that resides unrecognized, deep in the heart.

Alternating gracefully between the two main characters' points of view, The Fireman's Wife lucidly and sensitively portrays a young family's struggle to stay together, and their dawning realization that, sometimes, it may get better, and less dangerous, to just let go.

About Jack:

Georgia Author of the Year Nomination, 2009. A native of Lexington NC, and ahuge fan of “Honey Monk BBQ", Riggs’ is known for his edgy but honest character portrayals, as well as immersing the reader so deeply into the setting of the books, that the locations almost become characters in themselves. Have you ever read a book and wondered what the author's “voice” sounds like? Come hear Jack read while he’s on tour…and hear about his books, his characters, or the writing process, and have him sign a book for you. Everyone loves a good story. Come hear what all the talk is about.

Mary Alice Monroe

Saturday, August 1, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Time is a River

Mia Landa is recovering from breast cancer in a mountain cabin near Asheville, NC, when she discovers the journal of a sensational fly fisher of the 1920s, Kate Watkins. The inspiring words of a woman she never knew finally lure Mia from her shell to connect once more with the world around her. As she learns to fish, she uncovers secrets that span generations--secrets that have the power to change no only her life, but the lives of those in her new community.

About Mary Alice:

Mary Alice Monroe has written stories for as long as she can remember.  As a child she could always be found curled up with a book or writing.  One of her strongest memories is her first trip to the public library.  She couldn't believe all those books were there for her!  When they gave her her first library card, she felt as though she'd been given the keys to a candy shop for her imagination.  She still feels the same thrill in libraries and bookstores, just browsing through the books. 

Not until years later did fate intervene.  When her doctor confined her to bed for the final months of her pregnancy, Mary Alice's husband handed her a yellow notepad and pencil and urged her to write the novel she had always dreamed about.  Knowing she might never again have that gift of time, she wrote and wrote.   "I gave birth to a baby and a book," says the author.

A dozen books later, Mary Alice has found her voice in fiction.  Although known for her intimate portrayals of women's lives, her writing has gained added purpose and depth with her move to the South Carolina Lowcountry.   "Living on Isle of Palms provides a stimulating place for me to think and to write.  I've always been interested in nature, but living on the island and near the wetlands has influenced my work.  I draw themes for my novels from nature and the parallels with human nature. And, in my own small way, I hope that by bringing to life the beauty and mystery of this fabulously varied ecosystem and various endangered species in my stories, readers will be inspired to support efforts to protect them."