Ohio authors

10 12, 2022

Murder mystery authors Kylie Logan & Shelley Costa coming to Mentor Library

By |2022-10-10T11:13:46-04:00October 12, 2022|

Authors Shelley Costa and Kylie Logan have written several books and short stories between the two of them, often of a murder-mystery variety.

Costa is the author of the Val Cameron mystery series. Her writing has been nominated for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards. She’s also received a Special Mention for The Pushcart Prize. Meanwhile, Kylie Logan is the national bestselling author of The League of Literary Ladies Mysteries, the Button Box Mysteries, the Chili Cook-Off Mysteries, and more.

During a charming and insightful interview, they discuss the importance of voice, setting, and resilience. They also share their personal experiences with agents, publishers, rewrites, and almoooost getting a TV deal. We also chat about those delicious Cozy Mystery titles. This is a great video for both mystery fans and those who would like to write them!

Our special thanks to Shelley, Kylie, and moderator Rachel Coxon.

By the way, we love a good mystery at Mentor Public Library, and we’ve hosted several of our favorite mystery authors over the years. You can see our interviews with them (and, in a few cases, their entire talks) on our YouTube channel, including:

05 6, 2022

Discover True-Crime Stories of Murder & Mayhem on Lake Erie

By |2022-05-03T10:19:56-04:00May 6, 2022|

Local historian and author Wendy Koile has written about the legends of Lake Erie and disasters on its shores. So, for her newest book, she explores stories of murder and mayhem on the lake.

In this interview, Koile explains how researching history is like treasure hunting. (She has experience with both.) She also shares why she loves Lake Erie and wants to tell its stories. Finally, she recommends where you should eat if you only have one night in Geneva-on-the-Lake.

For more true crime from our YouTube channel:

11 29, 2021

Discover the ‘Monsters of Ohio’ with Author J.C. Raphael

By |2021-11-24T10:38:39-05:00November 29, 2021|

Author J.C. Raphael discusses how he spent a decade researching Ohio folklore, urban legends, and cryptozoological creatures for his book Monsters of Ohio. He also explains:

  • when and how cryptozoology first fascinated him
  • why folklore and legends are still important
  • how he selected the monsters that populate his book.

If you can’t get enough of local lore, our YouTube channel has authors sharing some of their favorite stories that they’ve researched:

10 13, 2021

Marty Gitlin Shares the Joy of Cartoons & Cereal

By |2021-10-12T14:28:55-04:00October 13, 2021|

Here’s an interview that will draw you in!

Award-winning author and pop-culture historian Martin Gitlin, the writer of A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History, discusses:

  • his metric for ranking the greatest animated characters in history
  • why Bugs Bunny tops the list
  • his favorite cartoon to share with his children
  • why he prefers Warner Brother cartoons over Disney
  • how and why he wrote an encyclopedia of cereals.

Marty also shares the joy of still appreciating as an adult what you loved as a kid!

You can visit our YouTube channel for more author interviews, including discussions with bestsellers like Karin Slaughter, Paula McLain and Christina Baker Kline, as well as upcoming authors like Stephen Markley and Rebekah Frumkin.

05 27, 2021

Uncover the Hidden History of Lake County

By |2021-05-27T06:00:24-04:00May 27, 2021|

Jennifer Boresz Engelking joins us for an interview and explains how an amusement park and shipwreck kindled her interest in local history and inspired her to write Hidden History of Lake County, Ohio. She also describes the research her book required.

Then chats about her first forays into writing, how she acted in the movie Unstoppable, and talks about her favorite Metroparks.

By the way, if you’re interested in local history, we’ve hosted several programs about it – many of which can be viewed in their entirety on our YouTube channel – including:

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