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The Camden Public Library invites the public to the Picker Room on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a special event with Donnaldson Brown, author of the debut novel Because I Loved You, and her Maine mentor Bill Roorbach, whose latest novel is Lucky Turtle. Join Roorbach and Brown in conversation as they discuss their latest books, followed by book sales and signings.
This event will be live and IN-PERSON ONLY. We hope you join us in the Picker Room for this special book event!
Bill Roorbach is the author of ten books, including the memoir Summers with Juliet, novels The Remedy for Love, and Life Among Giants, and the Flannery O’Connor Award–winning collection Big Bend. His work has appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Granta, The American Scholar, and many other publications. His newest novel, Lucky Turtle, was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice in 2022. Find him online at billroorbach.com
Donnaldson Brown grew up riding horses on her uncles’ ranch in East Texas and in her hometown in Connecticut. Her debut novel, Because I Loved You, is due out in April 2023 with She Writes Press. Brown is a former screenwriter and worked for several years with Robert Redford’s film development company. Her spoken word pieces have been featured in The Deep Listening Institute’s Writers in Performance and Women & Identity Festivals in New York City and in the Made in the Berkshires Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She’s a past fellow of the Community of Writers (formerly Squaw Valley Community of Writers), Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Craigardan. Ms. Brown is a longtime resident of both Brooklyn, New York, and western Massachusetts. A mother and former attorney, she is currently a facilitator and trainer with The Equus Effect, which offers somatic-based experiential learning with horses for veterans, first responders, and others struggling with PTSD. Find her online at donnaldsonbrown.com
In this “thrilling” love story (Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers and Five Tuesdays in Winter), a teenage girl with a checkered past finds instant chemistry with a mysterious stranger.
Page-turning, full of vivid characters, delicious suspense, and ultimately joy, Lucky Turtle is a big- hearted, deeply engrossing love story from one of our most entertaining and perceptive writers.
“…deeply affecting, swooningly romantic, hard as diamonds, too: dreams don’t always add up, and trouble can sometimes be our friend.”—Bill Roorbach
In this epic love story and rich family saga, Donnaldson Brown takes readers from the East Texas chaparral in the 1970’s against the backdrop of the Vietnam War to the vibrant art scene of New York City in the mid-1980’s to the present day, and from dreams lost to dreams rediscovered, weaving together a powerful story of abiding love—romantic love, parental love, and the kind of love that sets a person free to choose one’s own path and maybe, hopefully, return.