Blue Bicycle Books, Charleston, SC


Booksigning with Tim Owens, author of The Search Committee

Blue Bicycle welcomes author Tim Owens to the store Fri., Mar. 9, 5-7 pm to sign The Search Committee.

A mismatched team of seven hit the road in an Econoline church van on a mission to find a new pastor. They don’t agree on much other than the stops at Hardee’s for coffee and a biscuit. But they stick to the call, trying to slip undetected into worship services across the Southeast—all in hopes of stealing a preacher for their congregation.

Forced to spend countless hours together, these very different personalities from different generations begin to bond. Their lives are profoundly changed as they love and support each other through their personal difficulties.

 

The Search Committee (Tyndale House, pb., 400 pp., $13)

 

###

 

 



Taylor Polites signs The Rebel Wife, Thurs., Feb. 16


Author Taylor Polites will visit Blue Bicycle Books  Thurs., Feb 16, 5 – 7 pm to sign his new novel, The Rebel Wife , a story that confronts old Southern stereotypes and speaks to the profound impact the civil war had on the Southern nobility.

Augusta Branson is a young widow from an elite antebellum family trying to survive in Reconstruction Alabama. Finding herself in the ashes of a broken civilization, stained by the reputation of her Union-sympathizing husband, she must now fend for herself and her son.

“Peeling back layers of deceit and myth combined, Taylor Polites takes us into an era we barely understand. The flawed human heart that finally comes to understand ‘the truth’ is at the heart of this enduring, suspenseful novel.”  Patti Callahan Henry

The Rebel Wife (Simon & Schuster, hb. 304 pp. $25)

###



Rusty Bradley Signs Lions of Kandahar, Sat., Feb. 18

Blue Bicycle Books welcomes former U.S. Army Special Forces Commander Rusty Bradley to sign copies of his book Lions of Kandahar Sat., Feb. 18, 2 – 4 pm. Lions of Kandahar is a  first-hand account of one of the fiercest battles fought during the Afghan War. Bradley’s in-depth narrative provides a vivid glimpse of the NATO coalition’s offensive to topple the Taliban and establish order in the Kandahar Province.

Lions of Kandahar

(Random House, hb., 280 pp.,. $26)

###



Bette Mueller-Roemer exhibits handmade journals, Feb. 5!

 Blue Bicycle welcomes local artist and book-maker, Bette Mueller-Roemer  Sat., Feb. 5, 2-5 pm. Bette’s beautiful hand-made journals combine her affinity for ceramics, painting, and drawing. Bound with waxed linen thread, the journals are filled with blank cotton paper, separated with hand-painted section covers. Journal covers range from fine paper to ceramic plates, making the books as much of art pieces as keepers of thoughts and memories. Prices from $85-$150.

###



Bret Lott signs Dead Low Tide , Jan 28!

Local professor and New York Times bestselling author Bret Lott will sign his new book Dead Low Tide at Blue Bicycle Sat. Jan 28, 1-3pm. This long anticipated sequel to The Hunt Club, set in the South Carolina Lowcountry, returns with more murder, mystery, and family secrets. No longer a teenager and now a young man, protagonist Huger Dillard must come to terms with and confront the truth about his community, his past, and the mysterious place he calls home.

Pat Conroy calls Dead Low Tide “The best book Bret Lott has ever written—by far. He creates a Charleston that has never been written about in history… it is a literary thriller of the highest order—like something John Le Carré would write. I couldn’t put it down.”

Dead Low Tide (Random House, hb. 256 pp. $26)

 

 

###



All Necessary Force Launch Party with author Brad Taylor, Jan. 17!

Join Blue Bicycle at Red’s Ice House Tues, Jan. 17, 7:30 pm for the official launch of Brad Taylor’s anticipated new thriller All Necessary Force, second in the Pike Logan series. Last year, the launch of first book, One Rough Man, drew a crowd of over 200 people!

Taylor draws on decades of experience in the U.S. Army Infantry and Delta Force to tell the story of protagonist Pike Logan and his partner Jennifer Cahill. In All Necessary Force, he takes the two on an increasingly dangerous and convoluted anti-terrorist mission through Asia and Egypt.  Cussler, Clancy and Ludlum fans are sure to love this local author! Signed copies will be available at our online store after the event.

All Necessary Force (Dutton Adult, hb. 400 pp. $25.95)

###



Delicious Samples from the Charleston Junior League- Sat., Dec. 10!

Blue Bicycle Books welcomes the Charleston Junior League this Sat., Dec. 10, 2-4pm for a taste of Charleston Receipts, our best-selling cookbook! Charleston Receipts was first compiled in 1950 as a way for the League to raise money for the Charleston Speech and Hearing Center. Since that time, proceeds from the cookbook sales have supported numerous other League-sponsored, charitable activities. Now in its 61st year, the cookbook continues to offer Southern staples like Shrimp and Grits and Corn Pudding edited by the ladies who knew them best. Join us in the store on Saturday for some free samples and a holiday gift with a lot of Southern charm.

###



YALLFest Schedule Changes

Please note that there have been some minor changes to the YALLFest schedule for this Saturday. In particular, the Industry Insiders Panel at 1 pm has been cancelled, and some personnel changes have been made to the Zombie Attack Panel at 5 pm. Please click the YALLFest! link above to see the updated schedule.



YALLFest This Saturday!

YALLFest 2011, a FREE event featuring 26 of the country’s top YA authors is Sat., Nov. 12, 10 am to 6 pm. This is Blue Bicycle Books’ largest event ever. Adding up all the volunteers/writers/donors/and more, just the number of people working alone ranks in our all-time Top Five shindigs.

A spin-off of last year’s Capital Bookfest, YALLFest narrows the focus to the Young Adult genre. So who do we expect to come?

  1. People between the ages of 8 and 25.
  2. People who know anyone those ages.
  3. People who have ever been or would like to someday be those ages.
  4. People who like locally-owned businesses, especially bookstores.
  5. People who like pie.
  6. People who like books, especially novels, and love how novels create a world in the reader’s mind, something that starts when we stop having picture books read to us and start curling up alone with Nancy Drew and a flashlight, continuing through adulthood, Macondo, East Egg, the streets of Dublin…

Click the YALLFest! link above or visit www.yallfest.org for more information.



Come one, Come YALL!

We are truly grateful for all the authors who are coming to Charleston this weekend just for what we think will soon be the nation’s top Young Adult book festival. It’s an amazing, wide ranging group, former soccer moms and teachers, graduates of Yale, Williams, Harvard, Brown, Columbia who love spinning rich stories, natural talents like Isaac Marion, author of Warm Bodies, whose bio proclaims he’s never won an award and never went to college.

 A few can’t miss events:

 10 am The middle grade panel featuring Pseudonymous Bosch (ask any fifth grader). Will he finally reveal his true identity? Use a voice modulator? Proxy?

 1 pm David Levithan, co-author of Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.

 2 pm Ellen Hopkins – much revered author of gritty novels-in-verse.

 3 pm Lisa Brown and Adele Griffin in full Victorian regalia, will create an on-the-spot ghost story, with your help. Adele is a two-time National Book Award finalist, and Lisa is the author of How to Be and Vampire Boy’s Goodnight, which I’d rank with just about anything Maurice Sendak ever wrote. She’s also the author of these terrific 3-panel Book Reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle.  

 4pm HollYAwood Panel – Kaleb Nation, author and YouTube sensation, will moderate this panel about the transition from page to screen, while a crew films the first episode of his new reality show, Kaleb’s Nation.

 5 pm Zombie Attack Panel, Dave Stohl, Head of Worldwide Studios, Activision Video Games will be on hand just days after the release of the latest Call of Duty release, with free giveaways.

Come early and stay for the YA Smackdown at 6pm. Full schedule and festival map right here.

###