Virtual Author Talk: L.C. Rooney "Secrets & Lies"

Description

Join Bar Harbor author Linda Rooney, who writes under the pen name L.C. Rooney, for her first author event for her book ?Secrets & Lies? with the Jesup Memorial Library on Thursday, July 29 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Rooney was one of the original members of the ?Write On! at the Jesup,? the library?s writers group where she workshopped her book for several years. Attendees at this virtual program will also have the opportunity to win one of several prizes.
 
?Secrets & Lies? is the first book in the Riley Russell Mysteries Series with freelance paralegal Riley Russell. In ?Secrets & Lies? Riley uncovers the shocking connection between the murders of a wealthy young woman and a drug-using misfit that rock their quiet suburban hometown. Weaving together the tenuous threads of a reasonable doubt defense for her client takes Riley to the seedy underbelly of Atlantic City and puts her on the radar of an organized crime boss. A tangle of loyalties, secrets, and lies threatens to derail her efforts to get to the truth and places her own life in jeopardy.
 
 ?One early reader of ?Secrets & Lies? described Riley as being ?smart and tenacious like Kinsey Millhone, with a touch of the unmistakable New Jersey attitude and sense of humor Stephanie Plum fans will instantly recognize,? and I kind of like that comparison,? Rooney says. ?Because as much as the kind of cases in which Riley gets involved are serious and even gritty, I like a story that feels real. She?s not the police. She?s not a P.I. She?s doing work she knows is important?and she?s serious about it?but she?s also just an average young woman. So, she?s going to do things she probably shouldn?t do, and there will be consequences. But there will also be what I hope are laugh-out-loud moments where the reader goes, ?Yeah, I would totally do that, too!?? Bar Harbor readers?and Maine readers in general?will be interested to know that Riley also has a Bar Harbor connection which will be explored in a future book when a shocking family secret will compel Riley to travel to Bar Harbor, and that secret will change absolutely everything for her.
 
Rooney credit?s the Jesup?s writing group with jumpstarting her writing career. ?Writing is such a solitary endeavor. In the beginning, particularly, you have no idea if what you?ve written is any good. I saw a flyer on the community bulletin board at the MDI YMCA about a new writers? group forming and decided to go,? Rooney says. ?Having a group of supportive fellow writers to critique my work made a huge difference.?
 
Rooney?s professional career began by convincing her first boss to pay for her paralegal training. She still considers that to be the most fun she?s ever had working?until she began writing fiction?about a paralegal. While there may be some similarities between the author and her protagonist Riley Russell, the latter is savvier, younger, and more willing to confront danger than the former. Let?s face it: there?s a lot to be said for only having to think, dream, and write about criminals rather than face down the real thing in dark places. Rooney currently calls Bar Harbor home, but, like Riley, she is and always will be a Jersey girl at heart. For more information on Rooney visit lcrooney.com.
 
Copies of ?Secrets & Lies? can be purchased through co-sponsor Sherman?s Books at any of their locations, online at shermans.com or by calling 20-288-3161. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register fill out the form at jesuplibrary.org/events/rooney or email kchagnon@jesuplibrary.org.