Dear Librarians and SinC Members,

 

For the February issue of We Love Libraries News, I am excited to share fellow board member Jen Collins Moore’s article about her favorite library, which also happens to be one of mine–The Chicago Public Library!

 

I am also thrilled to announce the Key Largo Public Library is the February We Love Libraries $500 Grant Winner. Please find details and the library’s delightful application photo below. 

Thank you, Chicago Public Library! By Jen Collins Moore

 When I set out to write my Roman Holiday Mysteries series, I knew a lot about Italy. I spent a big part of my corporate career as a product marketer at Barilla, the family-owned Italian company that’s brought everything from spaghetti and pasta sauce to cookies and cakes to the world. It was a job steeped in the traditions of the greatest food country on the planet, and it gave me insights into both the food and corporate world of that country today.

 

I’ve been fortunate to travel frequently to Italy, both professionally and personally. Plus, I studied classics in college, which means I know a thing or two about the Romans who built the sites so many tourists ogle today.

 

That all gave me a lot to work with when I started writing my mystery about Maggie White, an American expat newly arrived in Rome who gets wrapped up in the murder of a dodgy tour guide. As a writer, though, I needed more.

 

If I wanted to transport readers to Rome, I needed to transport myself first. It’s impossible to overstate the value of reading for anyone who is serious about writing. So, I read books set in Italy. A lot of them.

 

As a Chicago resident, the Chicago Public Library is my gateway to all things literary. And more specifically, it’s the library’s subscription to Libby, the app that allows patrons access to digital library materials from their smartphones.

 

I’m not the first reader to sing the praises of this app, but let me add my voice. Being able to surround myself with audiobooks and novels on my e-reader whenever I needed a bit of inspiration allowed me to imagine myself in Italy while at home in the Midwest.

 

My main character might have been American, but the Italians in her orbit needed to ring true. I listened to non-fiction, memoirs, mysteries and literary fiction set in Italy, paying attention to the voices of the narrators as much as to the stories themselves. Listening to books helped the voices in my book land on point.

 

I’m so grateful to the Chicago Public Library for making these resources available to me. Bringing readers on an armchair adventure to the city I love wouldn’t have been possible without it.

 

Website: https://www.jennifercollinsmoore.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jencollinsmoore

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifercollinsmoore/

We Love Libraries Winner: Key Largo Library in Key Largo, Florida

 

“Known as the diving capital of the world, Key Largo brings to mind vacations in paradise, but this small town does have 12,447 residents as of the 2020 census, and our cozy library is a hub of the community, offering space for local residents to enjoy many library-sponsored activities including a concert series, story times, a book club, art installations, adult crafts, and children’s programming. Locals also use the space to gather with each other for games, tutoring, clinics, formal and informal meetings, sewing circles, and more. The library sees strong circulation numbers among young children and adults. In an effort to bring in older youth, our goal is to increase STEM offerings designed to encourage students to think critically, ask questions, design creatively, and learn from experience.” The $500 We Love Libraries grant will go towards STEM programming and materials for children.  

 

 

 

Thank you for all you do for your communities. Sisters in Crime loves libraries.

 

Happy reading!

 

Susan Hammerman
Library and Bookstore Liaison

 

 

 

WLL and WLB News Editor: Gail Lukasik’s fifth mystery and first gothic historical mystery is The Darkness Surrounds Us, Her memoir, White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing, was named one of the most inspiring stories of the year by The Washington Post. She is also the author of the Leigh Girard Mystery series and the stand-alone mystery, The Lost Artist. Gail appeared in the documentary, History of Memory, which is available on Amazon Prime. Her follow up book to WLH, What They Never Told Us: True Stories of Family Secrets and Hidden Identities Revealed, was released in November 2024. Website: www.gaillukasik.com

Here's a spreadsheet with our members' books. This month's releases are in a separate worksheet. Sort the spreadsheet by author name, location, title, or release date.

Sisters in Crime hosts LIVE webinars each month. Webinars last 60-90 minutes depending on the topic and the audience questions! These webinars are open to all.

Looking for diverse books? For many years, SINC has curated Frankie’s List, an extensive list of crime novels by people of color and other marginalized groups. Frankie Y. Bailey, building on work by the late Eleanor Taylor Bland, began to compile a list of published Black crime writers over a decade ago. Frankie has expanded the list to include other WOC and LGBTQ+ authors. Here’s a link: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/FrankiesList