Blue Bicycle Books

Join us Sat., Feb. 2, 5 pm as Mickey Dubrow will be here to discuss his new novel American Judas (SFK Press, pb., 344 pp., $17).

American Judas is a dystopian tale about a young couple’s life after opportunistic U.S. politicians abolish the wall of separation between Church and State. Seth and Maggie Ginsberg do their best to navigate an oppressive theocracy where fundamental Christianity is the only legal religion, and abortion, homosexuality, and adultery are outlawed. When a co-worker outs Seth as a Jew, Seth escapes to Mexico, while Maggie is sent to a Savior Camp. American Judas mixes political satire, suspense, and family drama.

Mickey Dubrow is passionate about telling stories with fresh, entertaining perspectives. He wants readers to feel excitement, sympathy, amusement, joy, and maybe even a little anxiety when they read his novels. In American Judas, he explores, among other possibilities, lost faith in America and what this might mean for the freedoms we cherish so much. As a freelance writer and producer for television, Mickey’s clients include CNN, Cartoon Network Marketing, and SRA/McGraw Hill.

Join us Tues., Jan. 15, 5:30 pm as Chris Covert will tell us the story behind his new book Never Missed (Warren Publishing, pb., 254 pp., $16), about his father Mark, a world-class long-distance runner who ran every day for exactly forty-five years.

What started as a hobby quickly became a life’s passion and a legacy for Mark Covert, holder of the second-longest running streak in history. He covered an astonishing 159,000 miles during the 16,436 consecutive days he kept The Streak alive. From his first national championship, to competing in the 1972 Olympic trials wearing the first pair of Nike shoes, Mark’s story is one of toughness, perseverance, and unwavering dedication to the sport of running.

Chris has spent fifteen years working with collegiate and professional athletes. A graduate of California State University, Fullerton and a student of Ken Ravizza, he has worked with athletes in High School, the NCAA [baseball, softball, football, soccer, cross country, and track & field], MLB, PGA, and NFL. As a former Head Coach at the NCAA level, he has worked with over 175 First Team All-Americans and over 250 All-Conference Athletes, along with being named a 9x Conference and Regional Coach of the Year. Chris now lives in Charleston and works as a motivational consultant.

Join us Thurs., Jan. 17, 5 pm as renowned architect Frank Harmon discusses his new book of sketches Native Places: Discovering a Way to See (ORO Edition, hb., 168 pp., $25).

Native Places is a collection of 64 watercolor sketches paired with mini-essays about architecture, landscape, everyday objects, and nature. The sketches relate the delight found in ordinary places. The short essays, rather than repeat what is visible in the sketch, illustrate ideas and thoughts sparked by that image and offer a fresh interpretation of ordinary things.

The goal of Native Places is, in part, to transform the way we see. Through its pages, barns become guidebooks to crops and weather; a country church is redolent of the struggle for civil rights and human dignity; and a highway rest stop offers a glimpse of egalitarian society.

Frank Harmon, FAIA, has designed sustainable modern buildings across the Southeast for 30 years. A graduate of the Architectural Association in London, Frank is a professor at the North Carolina State University College of Design. He has also taught at the Architectural Association and has served as a visiting critic at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Auburn University’s Rural Studio.

Join us Sat., Oct. 27, 12 pm for lunch at Halls Signature Events (5 Faber St.), as Patti Callahan discusses Becoming Mrs. Lewis (Thomas Nelson, hb., 416 pp., $26).

Tickets are $32 for the three-course luncheon, or $60 to add a signed copy of the book.

Get tickets here.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story. When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis—known as Jack—she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford don and the beloved writer of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters. Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, finding a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

Patti Callahan (Patti Callahan Henry) is a New York Times bestselling author. Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, has been an Indie Next Pick, twice an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year. Patti attended Auburn University for her undergraduate work and Georgia State University for her graduate degree. The mother of three children, she lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina, with her husband.

Join us Tue., Oct. 30, 5:00 pm to celebrate the release of Joseph Kelly‘s new book Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin (Bloomsbury Publishing, hb., 512 pp., $32).

In Marooned, Joseph Kelly reexamines the history of Jamestown and comes to a radically different and decidedly American interpretation of these first Virginians. We all know the great American origin story. Fleeing religious persecution, the hardworking, pious Pilgrims thrived in the wilds of New England, where they built their fabled city on a hill. However, the epic origin of America was not an exodus and a fledgling theocracy. It is a tale of shipwrecked castaways of all classes marooned in the wilderness fending for themselves in any way they could–a story that illuminates who we are today.

Joseph Kelly is a professor of literature at the College of Charleston. He is the author of America’s Longest Siege: Charleston, Slavery, and the Slow March Toward Civil War, and the editor of the Seagull Reader series. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.