Author to Author: Lorraine Devon Wilke and Ruthie Marlenée at The Last Bookstore Studio City in Hollywood, CA
Chick Singer and And Still Her Voice feature complex female characters swept into unexpected journeys, compelling them to reinvent and redefine who they are and what matters. While Chick Singer‘s narrative brings readers into the 80s rock scene and a powerful mother/daughter story, And Still Her Voice is immersed in the musical 60s, its intrepid protagonist navigating mystical familial attachments and iconic cultural experiences.
With shared musical throughlines and strong themes of family and identity, these two very unique novels will inspire a fascinating literary conversation.
Join Lorraine Devon Wilke and Ruthie Marlenée at The Last Bookstore Studio City in Hollywood, CA for a discussion on their novels. Books will be available for purchase at the event, and for signing following.
For more information, please visit The Last Bookstore’s website here.
About Chick Singer:
Rock & roll stardom is something you dream about when you’re young, and for Libby Conlin, the ‘80s and all their wild promise are ancient history. What pulls her attention now is the arrival of Bridget, her newly divorced daughter, home again despite their historically fractious relationship. Life quickly turns upside down when Bridget’s application to a local art school involves anonymously posting Libby’s old songs online, music that’s good enough to garner the attention of industry gatekeepers. When Libby’s mysterious past—and all its dark secrets—comes roaring into the present, the reconfiguration of everything and everyone in her orbit is both bittersweet and life changing.
Chick Singer explores a complex mother/daughter relationship against a backdrop of music, dreams, and love—and the art of redefining all three.
About Lorraine Devon Wilke:
An accomplished writer in several genres, Lorraine Devon Wilke has built an eclectic library of expertly crafted work. After launching her “arts+politics” blog, Rock+Paper+Music (2010), she became a popular contributor to HuffPost and other media sites; her essays have been reprinted in literary journals, academic and nonfiction books. She maintains a column at Medium and a popular Substack, Musings of a Creative Loudmouth. Previous novels include After the Sucker Punch (2014), Hysterical Love (2015), and The Alchemy of Noise (2019). Landing in Los Angeles with an early rock & roll band, Devon Wilke lives with her husband, attorney/writer, Pete Wilke.
About And Still Her Voice:
A wildly original, soul-stirring ride through the Summer of Love…”
It’s Easter, 1967, when Anna LeMar, a lonely half-Mexican teen, stabs her father and runs away, but she’s not alone. Grandma Phoebe, her dead white grandmother, has colonized her brain and hitched along in a mental sidecar for the ride of their lifetime. Anna has also inherited Grandma’s musical talent and so reluctant travel companions, they navigate the world with Anna’s guitar strapped to her back and the knife she used on her father strapped to her leg.
On the road, Anna encounters all sorts of characters and begins to discover her own voice as she searches for a way to cut the strings that bind her to Grandma Phoebe. Set during the Summer of Love and the tumultuous 60s, this coming-of-age speculative story chases history through Anna’s adventures and quest for love. A generational family drama, it’s also a story of mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and the ties that bind us for generations.
About Ruthie Marlenée:
Ruthie Marlenée, a native Californian with Mexican roots, is the author of Isabela’s Island, Curse of the Ninth, and Agave Blues. Nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, she is a member of Macondo Writers Workshop, Inlandia Institute, Palm Springs Writers Guild, and is a WriteGirl Mentor. Her short stories and poems have been widely published.
