Book Reading at Savage Library

According to the authors, “Think Indiana Jones meets the Maltese Falcon. Except Indy is a woman and there's no falcon, only chickens. It takes place in Silverville, where anything is possible. An ordinary Colorado mining town that may sit on converging ley lines that punch holes in everyday reality, that cause extraordinary coincidences and the occasional UFO sighting. And now...a curse!”

The book has already received a nomination for the Colorado Book Award in the category of Young Adult Fiction, said Larry Meredith, publisher of Raspberry Creek Books. “But the book is also friendly to adults as well,” he said. The Todds said, “We wanted the second book to be different from the first – not the ‘same song, second verse’ – so we added new characters in a situation that’s more along the lines of a paranormal adventure-comedy.” 

The first book in the saga, The Silverville Swindle, was chosen as the One Book/One Valley reading for the Gunnison Valley in 2007, and was nominated for the Colorado Blue Spruce Award in 2008. The Washington Center for the Book placed Swindle on the recommended reading list for the Library of Congress. Both books are available in area bookstores, as well as Mark’s science fiction novel, Strange Attractors, also nominated for the Colorado Book Award for the category of genre fiction. The Todds’ books are also available at Amazon as trade paperback and e-read, at Barnes & Noble, and in a widening circle of independent bookstores.

Meredith said in the near future the press will release the first Silverville book under a new title, Little Greed Men, and will also publish the third book in the series, currently underway by the Todds.

Kym O'Connell-Todd, a 1990 Western graduate in Communications, served for years as features editor for the Gunnison Country Times and later worked for both Lycos Top News and NBC's Internet division. She's currently a free-lance graphic designer and webmaster for one of the largest RV tour companies in the world.

Mark Todd has taught creative writing and literature at WSCU for 25 years and currently serves as director of the university's MFA in Creative Writing. He stages community and university-affiliated creative writing events and conferences for the region.

Following the reading, Savage Library will sponsor a reception and a chance to have the authors autograph copies of the new novel. For more information, contact Library Director Nancy Gauss, 943-2278.