Tag Archives: rhode island author expo

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – John W. Grisham #riauthors

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nov-23-johngrisham

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – John W. Grisham

This post was originally posted on Martha Reynold’s blog and has been reposted here with author permission, minor revisions have been made.

“We are only young once. That is all society can stand.” –Bob Bowen

Full disclosure: I am not the author of The FirmThe Client, or the Theodore Boone series, though like my literary namesake I am an attorney by profession, having practiced locally for many years. (While the rewards can be quite satisfying, the encounters with armed thugs and hair-breadth escapes from death are fortunately less common in real life.)

Few experiences are as humbling as sitting down to write a first novel. Like other aspiring authors, I’d heard the old saying that you write a million words of dreck before starting to turn out publishable material. By my estimate, I’ve paid my dues twice over just trying to get the story right. Along the way, I often identified with James Joyce’s famous lament that, “I got seven words today…but I don’t know what order they go in!”

In University, I take the reader on a four-year jaunt through a fictional New England institution of higher learning. The novel is set in the 1980’s—everyone’s favorite pop-culture decade, with background details ranging from the ubiquitous (Pac-Man) to the obscure (remember Pepsi Free?). Inspired by my own undergraduate days at BU*, it is the story of that brief, mostly bygone period in everyone’s life when breaking the rules and questioning authority were the norm, with liability concerns of secondary importance. You will relive the experience of pulling all-nighters (sometimes studying, more often not), and waking up 12 minutes before your first freshman exam. Together, we will cheer on a video game-playing dormmate’s attempt at a world record, and watch with a mix of sympathy and Schadenfreude the clumsy, on-and-off-again efforts of an earlier generation’s Leonard Hofstadter to win the girl of his dreams. While behind the scenes, the school’s ambitious president consolidates his power on campus, achieving absolute control of his domain before a desperate craving for higher office leads him to become separated from reality.

In the end, it’s the characters that carry a novel, and here I had no shortage of inspiration. A shout-out to the boys of Towers 6 West and the girls of 7, who made this a labor of love, and a story I hope you will find entertaining.

*Boston University, not Baylor. With apologies to our friends from Texas.

John William Grisham is a practicing attorney in Providence, and a member of the Association of Rhode Island Authors. A 35-year resident of Middletown, he is a former Secretary and past Chair of the local Library Board, and has previously served on the Town Charter Review Commission. Find his book University here.

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Ashley Richer #riauthors

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nov-21-ashley

Rhode Island Author Expo Spotlight – Ashley Richer

This post was originally posted on Martha Reynold’s blog and has been reposted here with author permission, minor revisions have been made.

Many ask me the question, “what made you want to write a book?”

Well, like most artistic professions, writing was, and always will be, a natural gift that I am blessed to have. The writing part came easy…it was taking the leap into publishing that needed a push.

I decided to pursue publishing after battling a rare medical condition. At 24 years old I survived a dissection of my carotid artery and multiple TIA strokes. This life changing experience will forever hold a bittersweet spot in my heart. The bitter…I battled a tough and long recovery, took a permanent medical leave from my job, and had to give up hobbies that I enjoyed my entire life.

However, after four years I found the sweet… I teamed with award-winning local illustrator Ryan Maguire to create the first book in the series. We fell in love, published our first book, and just welcomed our first child into the world in August. I hope to inspire everyone to believe that there is no obstacle too large to overcome, and sometimes the toughest obstacles lead to the biggest miracles!

Ryan and I are now preparing to launch the second book in the series. The first book in the series, titled Tyler’s TALL Tales: Chasing the moon, has a Rhode Island setting and focuses on teaching children about local Narragansett landmarks. The second book, Tyler’s TALL Tales: Journey around the world, will take readers on a global adventure and focuses on raising awareness of animals found all over the world. We hope to continue to educate children in schools and the community through literacy and illustration.

Ryan and I have a crowdfunding website to help offset costs for local schools and community establishments that wish to have us visit for one of our custom workshops. Together we have combined our teaching experiences to develop innovative workshops, which enforce creative thinking, artistic discovery, and movement. To learn more, or donate to our cause, please visit our  GoFundMe page.

You can contact Ashley via email (tylerstalltales@gmail.com), visit her on Facebook, and catch up with Tyler’s Tall Tales on her blog.