Local Authors Past and Present
Work in progress here -- the field is richer than first envisioned. We hope to incorporate past authors (Marianne Moore, Jean Craighead George, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, and so on), present authors/illustrators (Amy Bates, Megan Lloyd-Thompson, Adrienne Su, Kim van Alkemade, Sherry Knowlton, and so on), and books from authors who knew the Valley well and wrote about events here (Lois Lenski, Lois Lowry, Conrad Richter, and so on). We will organize them with category headers for better searching and annotate them with the particulars as we work on this. Keep checking!
Dead of Spring
Dead of Spring
When a beloved state senator plunges to his death at Alexa Williams' feet in the Capitol Rotunda, the authorities suspect suicide. Although the powerful chair of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee was at the center of a controversial new bill to expand hydraulic fracturing, he was also rumored to be ill. Shaken, Alexa tries to move past the disturbing incident by concentrating on work. She's leading a senate commission on sex trafficking. Plus, she's helping an old college roommate sue a natural gas company for their role in causing her daughter's rare cancer.
In researching the lawsuit, Alexa becomes embroiled in the high-stakes politics of fracking. As the relationship with her state trooper boyfriend drifts onto the rocks, Alexa is drawn to a charismatic state legislator who's leading an anti-fracking crusade. Then, the police shock Alexa with the news that she could be in danger; she's a witness to the senator's murder, not his suicide.
When Alexa narrowly escapes a sniper's bullet, she must discover why she's a target―and who she can trust--before the next shot hits its mark.
With Sherry Knowlton's trademark mix of feminism, history, romance, and fast-paced thrills, Dead of Spring skyrockets from the fracking fields of the Marcellus Shale to the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster of 1979 to the rolling hills of Tuscany to the halls of Pennsylvania state government. In this suspenseful tale of corruption and runaway greed, Alexa Williams proves, once again, that she's a formidable heroine. The twists and turns will keep you on the edge of your seat.