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.Lisa Gadner holds one of her newest books "Look For Me" Oct. 18 at the Main library where she spoke as the guest speak for the Library Literacy Societies annual fundraiser.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Lisa Gardner was the keynote speaker at the Library Society's annual fundraiser on Oct. 18 at the Main library.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Lisa Gardner signed novels for those in attendence Oct. 18 for the Main libraries annual Library Society Fundraiser.
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.Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Members of the Library Literacy Society posed with Lisa Gardner (front, center) at the annual fundraiser Oct. 18 at the Main library branch.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Attendees at the Library Societies Annual Fundraiser featuring Lisa Gardner ate dinner at the Main library Oct. 18.
By JESSICA HARKER
New York Times best selling author Lisa Gardner spoke at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County’s annual Literary Fundraiser.
“This is the Literary Society’s main fundraiser every year,” said Janet Loew, the library’s spokes person.
Tickets were $65 and included admission into the event, a cocktail and appetizer reception and a signed copy of one of the authors books.
“One hundred and fifty people at a major library is very impressive it says a lot about the appeal of the Youngstown library,” Gardner said.
She said that she enjoys spending time at library events such as this because she, as many authors are, is indebted to her local library for helping her start her career.
“For me, probably the biggest thing I would say is that my brother and I grew up in a small dairy community and our library was like a portal to another world,” Gardner said.
When Gardner decided she wanted to write her first novel at 18, her first stop was her local library.
These days she attends classes at her local New Hampshire library, her favorite of which is origami.
“A library is becoming our biggest delivery of social services,” Gardner said. “There are large parts of the United States where the library is serving the homeless population. I think the need for libraries is greater than ever but the roles are shifting.”
Gardner has written more than 30 books during her career, which stemmed from her interest in true crime and her passion for understanding the human psyche.
“I do a lot of research with law enforcement,” Gardner said. “I follow a lot of true crime and cases in the news and generally things are just sticking in the back of my mind.”
She said her process usually begins by hearing interesting stories in the news that grasp her attention, and then researching the stories and discussing them with law enforcement to see what the reality behind the situation would be.
One example is the story of Amy Bishop, the only female mass murder. In her early life Bishop was found to have accidently shot her brother to death, and then later become the only woman to commit a violent shooting.
It was this information that interested Gardner, who researched the story for her novel “Never Tell.”
“Its the psychology behind true crime,” Gardner said. “These things are all just so complicated, things that happen in the real world that grab my attention.”
Gardner spoke at the event about her novel “Look For Me” a story inspired by the recent trend of entire families turning up murdered, with their teenage daughter missing.
“Its interesting because half the time she murders them, and half the time the family is murdered to abduct her,” Gardner said.
Her advice to young writers is to read constantly and to continue to write until you have a full book.
“If you do that it doesn’t matter how terrible it is you actually are a novelist you have completed a book,” Gardner said. “You can talk about work that’s done, you can’t talk about a blank page.”
She said that writers block is just a myth, and should be looked at as an excuse to tackle the problem in a new way.
“If you wrote a page a day, you would have a book at the end of the year.” Gardner said. “As long as you can see one next thing, just keep on trucking.”
Gardner said she herself does a lot of reading, especially authors Lisa Scottoline, Lisa Unger and Lisa Jackson.
“When in doubt, read Lisa,” Gardner said.
For more information about upcoming library events, go to www.libraryvisit.org.