New England Books and Authors

Eager readers and listeners were on hand at the Needham Public Library's Community Room this week to hear Rachel Silber Devlin speak about her book "Snapshots of my Father John Silber" and to find out from Silber's oldest daughter what the former President of Boston University was really like. The event was hosted by Matt Robinson of The Robinson Reporter , who that night wore the class ring of his late grandfather, who attended Boston University. Rachel Silber Devlin at the  Needham Public Library The evening opened with a six-minute slide show that featured pictures of Silber at various times in his public and private lives. Devlin said in her opening remarks following the slideshow that the abundance of pictures is, "one of the nice things in her book. Narrowing it down was difficult." Work Ethic and Expectations There were times John Silber would come home for dinner, and then return to his office to finish the day's work. Devlin spoke for a little ...

Heidi Schauster Parents want their children to be healthy. This includes getting plenty of exercise and eating healthy. Eating healthy can mean healthy food, and it can also mean the right amounts of food. Sometimes, people can be so obsessed about their weight and appearance, it can affect what and how they eat to an extreme degree. No one intentionally seeks to harm their children when it comes to food and their diet. Parents can inadvertently be doing more harm than good. Sometimes, people can let the "ideals" they see on social media get in the way of what is really a healthy way of eating. For Heidi Schauster, an author and nutrition therapist, maintaining a healthy relationship between food and the body is more than just a way of life, it is a mission. Schauster has spent 28 years helping people who suffer from eating disorders. She is also a recovering sufferer of an eating disorder. Her experience in the field and personal experiences have helped her in writing "...

185 pages; Published by Hummingbird Press, ©2024 In a world where many people seem to seem obsessed with their body and try to address “problems” with cutting back or changing what they eat, Heidi Schauster offers different methods and a different perspective when it comes to facing these problems. Schauster has addressed multiple issues and potential solutions in “Nurture: How to Raise Kids who Love Food, their Bodies, and themselves”. In the book, she offers ten steps to address potential eating disorders and offers alternatives to "solutions" people have previously utilized to manage their weight and their appetite. "Nurture" takes on not only eating disorders that affect adults and teenagers, especially women, but also the body image issues that cause these disorders. Schauster not only cites the problems that can lead to disorders (stress, body image, and genetics, just to name a few) and offers many solutions to the food-related issues. As a licensed profess...

239 pages; Published by Fire and Ice , ©2015 In the idyllic, picturesque town of Fairfield, Connecticut , T.J., his cousin LouAnne, and best buddy Bortnicker have found themselves to be local celebrities thanks to their local television show "Junior Gonzo Ghost Chasers". Their local fame has spread beyond the borders of the Constitution State thanks to previous ghost hunts the friends have taken on, but the three teenagers have somehow found time for other pursuits. T.J. is playing Legion Ball and Beatlemaniac Bortnicker can always find time listen to some deep tracks or brush up on trivia regarding his favorite band. In "Curse of the Fairfield Witch", Paul Ferrante's fourth installment of the T.J. Jackson series,  "Curse" starts in 1662, where Charity Blessing finds herself accused of witchcraft. The young woman faces hostility from the entire town of Fairfield, including her father, who is a respected member of the community and seems to be more i...

38 pages; Published by Mascot Books , ©2017 Some kids go to school and do their work, finish their work, and go about the rest of the day without even thinking about it. Some kids go to school and struggle with what seems to be the simplest of assignments. There comes a time when a child can concentrate for so long before they move on to other things; things that are more fun than work that is too complicated and doesn't include the dread the student feels when it's being started. If your child understands what this is like, then your child may want to get to know Scribbles, the title character who tries hard in Theresa Mackiewicz' book. "Scribbles" follows a little girl named Theresa, but likes her nickname better, as she moves from subject to subject in her school. She always seems to fall behind in her assignments, which frustrates her teachers, and ultimately herself. Scribbles meets Mrs. Sunshine. Mrs. Sunshine audits Scribbles' classes to see what is b...

290 pages; Published by William Morrow, ©2010 Mark Genevich , Massachusetts' favorite wise-cracking, narcoleptic private eye is back, and this time he has some friends. Well, he has group therapy. It wasn't his idea. It came from an ultimatum his mother gave him. Being a private eye means you can get work from the strangest of places. For Mark, his latest job comes from someone he meets in group therapy named Gus. Genevich drinks with a man named Gus and the result is a job. Easy or not, Genevich can't afford to turn down work. Life hasn't been easy for him. Business leads have been drying up, and he is facing a lawsuit. Not only that, but a Boston Police detective wants to talk to him about a nearby fire. His questions are almost accusatory. If you read "The Little Sleep" , you know how congenial and professional Genevich is with Detective Owolewa. It's not just Owolewa. There's also a bouncer Genevich rubs the wrong way and people who want to give th...

242 pages; Published by Black Lyon Publishing , ©2021 Saxonbourg, Pennsylvania Police Chief Greg Adams stopped a vehicle on the cold afternoon of December 4, 1980. It would be the last stop of his life. Adams was gunned down by Donald Webb, a low-level mobster who spent the next 36 1/2 years in hiding after the murder. After Adams is shot, a tense ambulance ride to the hospital follows, but it is too late as the police chief is declared dead. A manhunt follows as the Saxonbourg Police Department tries to close in on the killer. Webb is able to escape their efforts, and it won't be the last time he proves to be elusive.  What happened during the next three-plus decades after Chief Adams' murder was an international manhunt that comprised of the Saxonbourg Police Department, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts State Police Departments, and the F.B.I. Maureen Boyle's "The Ghost" traces the work of different people from the Northeast who passed the baton and paperwork ...