Master storyteller, Frank Delaney, returns to the Hickory Stick Bookshop to sign his new book Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show.

“She sprang from the womb and waved to the crowd. Then smiled and took a bow.” And so we first meet Venetia Kelly, the beguiling actress at the center of this new, spellbinding, and epic novel by Frank Delaney, the bestselling author of Ireland and Shannon.

January 1932: While Ireland roils in the run-up to the most important national election in the Republic’s short history, Ben MacCarthy and his father watch a vagabond variety revue making a stop in the Irish countryside. After a two-hour kaleidoscope of low comedy, Shakespearean recitations, juggling, tumbling, and other entertainments, Ben’s father, mesmerized by Venetia Kelly, the troupe’s magnetic headliner, makes a fateful decision: to abandon his family and set off on the road with Miss Kelly and her caravan. Ben’s mother, shattered by the desertion, exhorts, “Find him and bring him back,” thereby sending the boy on a Homeric voyage into manhood, a quest that traverses the churning currents of Ireland’s fractious society and splinters the MacCarthy family.

Interweaving historical figures including W. B. Yeats, and a host of unforgettable creations—“King” Kelly, Venetia’s violent, Mephistophelean grandfather; Sarah Kelly, Venetia’s mysterious, amoral mother; and even a truth-telling ventriloquist’s dummy named Blarney—Frank Delaney unfurls a splendid narrative that spans half the world and a tumultuous, eventful decade.
 
Teeming with intrigue, pathos, and humor, Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show explores two of Ireland’s great national passions: theater and politics. Writing with his signature mastery and lyrical prose, Frank Delaney once again delivers an unforgettable story as big and boisterous as the people and events it chronicles.

If you are unable to attend, please call 860-868-0525 to reserve a copy.

Calling all cat lovers! Meet Dr. Sharon Eisen and Linda Francese who will be on hand to share their special cat stories and sign their new book Cat Tales.

Cat Tales is a heartwarming and inspirational collection of stories about cats that will make you smile, laugh and cry, sometimes all at the same time.  The stories will most certainly bring fond memories of all the cats that have graced your life, and they will make you love and appreciate your current feline companions even more.  These cats that come and go from our lives leave indelible pawprints on our hearts, and the authors have captured many of these special cats in the tales they share in their book.

If you are unable to attend, please call 860-868-0525 to reserve a copy.

In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.” In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.

Art St. John will be reading from his new poetry book Everythin' But the Kitchen Zink on Sunday, March 21st @ 2:00pm. The book signing will follow.

Mr. St. John began writing poetry after a traumatic period in his life. He underwent eight operations for total knee replacements and follow-up rehabilitation, then was diagnosed with a staph infection. The health care staff were concerned that isolation could impede remedies being made to cure the infection because Mr. St. John was already suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He prayed that evening for help to cope with this stressful episode in his life. The next morning he awoke to a "spiritual voice" telling him to "write poetry."

Mr. St. John is a WWII verteran, active in the American Legion since 1946 including state  commander in 1961, and a member of the Connecticut's American Legion Hall of Fame.

If you are unable to attend, please call 860-868-0525 to reserve a copy.

 Join us for a night of verse and music! Poet, Sean Hill, will be in shop reading and signing copies of his new book of poetry, Blood Ties and Brown Liquor. Then enjoy the soothing stylings of Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, who will be on hand with their unique blend of folk music.