By Isabell Macrina
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Authors Timothy Gager and Laurette Folk joined the folks at Needham Free Public Library (NFPL) on Tuesday night to share excerpts from their latest novels and discuss their stories, and the process of writing, with each other and the assembled crowd.
After talking for a few minutes while waiting to start, Folk started off the evening. She read an excerpt from her latest novel “Eleison.” “Eleison” is a family saga that contains themes of love, faith, redemption and reconnection, and spirituality while learning to accept our lives for what they are and ultimately letting go. The story is set after the death of family patriarch Dante Alighieri Russo. We follow characters Nicoletta, his daughter who after long-suffering panic attacks realizes her psychic abilities, his son Bardo who has to deal with unrequited love and becoming self-actualized, and his widow Florence who breaks her stoicism to tell the bittersweet tale of their love. However, Folk chose to read an excerpt from the point of view of Sabine, Nicoletta’s mentor with her psychic abilities. Sabine is a Haitian immigrant, and Folk wanted to tell of the beliefs they carry with a mix of Catholicism and Vodou, creating and incredibly unique and compelling character as a mentor to sympathize with. Her writing style is poetic, creating stunning imagery that feels like the mysticism she describes in her words.
Gager’s novel “Shadows of the Seen” is a dark and riveting story told in a non-linear narrative. It features four protagonists caught up in a tapestry of politics, violence, and inner demons that surround a whodunit mystery which will leave you guessing until the end. The story starts with a prologue of something we see on the news too often, a shooting. We go between the stories of tormented Peter, down on his luck Lucky, opportunistic Bobby-Joe-Gager, and ambitious politician Candace as we try to uncover the mystery, who was the shooter. Gager’s story reflects the world we experience today. With vivid writing style that plays a movie in your brain and a grim reality, the amount of hope you receive from finishing it is a surprise.
After reading the excerpts, the authors jumped into questions. They shared how they got their start in writing, what brought them to where they are now, and some hopeful words for new authors. Write every day.
While the stories are different in tone and content, both bring you into the story itself with incredible visuals, compelling characters, and overall being well worth their time.
