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| Hank and Hallie in front of Michael Jordan's poster |
As it turns out, both Hallie and Hank attended the Mohegan Sun event and had a wonderful time. And Colleen is here today to tell us what's on tap for the event at THE KATE (which by the way, is the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, a totally gorgeous facility).
COLLEEN: Thanks for asking, Lucy ... and better yet, thanks for participating! We are really excited about our first ever event at The Kate, which provides a beautiful and very intimate setting for this fun program. Doors will open at 10:00 a.m. and YOU will be first up at 10:30 to discuss The Key West Food Critic Mystery Series. Can't wait to hear how Hayley Snow came to life as your heroine.
Then, at 11:15 we will hear from Suzanne Palmieri (aka Hayes), an "up and coming" author from New Haven who has a really amazing personal story that she will tell our guests all about. Suzanne is the author of the new book, "The Witch of Little Italy," an engrossing tale about love, family and witchcraft, and also "I'll Be Seeing You" which she co-wrote with Loretta Nyhan, although they've never met in person.At noon, Bliss Gourmet of Westbrook will be serving delicious boxed lunches (included in the ticket price) and the cash bar will open for business! For October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, there will be fun interactive art activities by The Drunken Palette (now with studios in downtown New London and in Westbrook at The Shops at Waters Edge) to benefit The Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation.
After lunch, we'll hear from Psychic Medium Angelina Diana who will speak about spirit communications and perform random readings throughout the audience. Buckle your seatbelts for that one!
Next we'll hear more about witches from Brunonia Barry, NY Times bestselling author of "The Lace Reader" and "The Map of True Places."
By now everyone will be hungry for something sweet, so Bliss will be baking up some of YOUR key lime cupcakes from "Topped Chef" for a quick afternoon coffee break. 
Finally, B.A. (Barbara) Shapiro, author of "The Art Forger" will be interviewed by Olwen Logan from The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts about her very popular book which centers around Boston's infamous Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist and the high-stakes world of artists and art collectors.
A portion of all book sales by RJ Julia Bookseller will benefit the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation. Tickets are $55 for the full day's events and can be purchased at www.thebigbookclub.org
LUCY: That sounds like a wonderful day! And the Mohegan Sun event this year promises to be even bigger and better than last year--you have a new partnership. Tell us about that.
COLLEEN: YES! We are thrilled to announce that we are working with The Mark Twain House and Museum (MTHM) to present this fabulous encore event on February 21-22, 2014 The staff at the MTHM are pros at putting on large scale author events, recently hosting Stephen King at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford for over 2,500 ticketholders. We will also be hosting a fun after-hours party called Books and Bars, which will take place in one of the resort's nightclubs. Last year, Hank was our surprise guest at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain where readers shared their comments about "The Other Woman." It was really a blast and we can't wait to do it all over again in an even BIGGER way this coming February.
LUCY: thanks for stopping by Colleen...Okay, reds, raise your hands if you're coming! And tell the truth, if you went to an author event at a casino, how would you really spend your time?
