Saline Natives Lead Ghostly Gathering at Saline District Library Monday Night

Ghostly Gathering at Monday Night

Two award-winning authors and graduates will present an evening of mysteries and ghost stories at the Saline District Library at 7 p.m. Monday. They will also sell and sign copies of their books.

The free event, geared toward young readers and parents, is led by Jennifer Allison and Lauren Hulten Thomas. Both graduated from Saline High School in 1984 and were recognized with the school’s top achievement award for English language and literature. Over the years, the two continued developing their craft and mentoring each other as writers while also working as writing teachers and editors. Along with a fun Halloween-themed celebration of mysteries and ghost stories, the two authors will discuss the writing and publishing process and answer questions from the audience.

Allison’s Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator mystery series for young readers has garnered numerous starred reviews and a listing in School Library Journal’s “Best Books of 2005” and Booklist Magazine’s “Top Ten Mysteries of 2005.” The Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator books have also been nominated for several state reading list awards and an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America. The recently published fifth book in her mystery series, Gilda Joyce: The Bones of the Holy, is set in historic St. Augustine, Fla. Throughout the writing process, Allison was inspired by a combination of true history, local ghost stories, and interviews with real people. She lives with her husband and three children in Kensington, Md. More information about her series can be found at www.gildajoyce.com.

Laura Hulthen Thomas’s award-winning short fiction has appeared in a number of literary journals. To ground her recently published story “Bones on Bois Blanc” in state lore, the author researched numerous Michigan ghost stories. She teaches creative writing at the University of Michigan’s Residential College, where she serves as program head for the undergraduate creative writing program.  For Ghost Writers: Us Haunting Them editors Keith Taylor and Laura Kasischke asked twelve celebrated Michigan writers to submit new stories on one subject: ghosts. The resulting collection is a satisfying mix of tales by some of the state’s most well-known and award-winning writers. Some of the pieces are true stories written by non-believers, while others are clearly fiction and can be funny, bitter­sweet, spooky, or sinister. All share Michigan as a setting, bringing history and a sense of place to the eerie collection. Thomas grew up in Saline and now resides in Ann Arbor with her husband and two sons.