LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK EVENT: Linda Watanabe McFerrin in Conversation with David Downie, Author of The Gardener of Eden
Monday, March 11th, 2019 || 6pm Book Passage || Ferry Building, San Francisco ||www.bookpassage.com
A mysterious beachcomber appears one day on the coastal bluffs near the small town of Carverville, a place whose best days are long behind it. Who is he, and why has he returned after nearly forty years? Carverville’s prodigal son, James, serendipitously finds work at a gentrified motel, but his homecoming soon takes a sinister turn when he and a local teenager make a gruesome discovery on the beach. It forces him to reckon with the ghosts of his past—and the dangers of the present. Rumors, distrust, and conspiracies spread among the townsfolk, all of them seemingly trapped in their claustrophobic and isolated world. But is there something more sinister at work here than the mere fear of outsiders? In The Gardener of Eden, David Downie weaves an intricate and compelling narrative of redemption, revenge, justice, love, and the price of secrecy—as a community grapples with its tortured past and frightening future.Come and hear LCW founder Linda Watanabe McFerrin in conversation with David Downie, author of the critically acclaimed A Taste of Paris, as well as the newly released The Gardener of Eden. Below are a few snippets about The Gardener of Eden.
“Original, lively, engaging, unexpected, sharp, and poetic. Downie is a master of the eerie and bizarre.”
— Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
“A mystery pitch-perfect for the time and place. Compelling and more than a little ominous.”
—Patricia Bracewell, best-selling author of the Emma of Normandy Trilogy
“Downie’s poetic, evocative, lyrical style sweeps you up and his characters live on long after you’ve finished reading.”
—Ellen Crosby, author of Harvest of Secrets
David Downie has called Paris and the Marais home since 1986. He has written for over 50 publications worldwide including Bon Appétit, The Los Angeles Times, Town & Country Travel, The San Francisco Chronicle, epicurious.com, and Salon.com. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light, three Terroir guides, as well as several cookbooks and crime novels. He lives with his wife, Alison Harris, a photographer, and creates custom tours via his “Paris, Paris Tours” blog site: http://parisparistours.blogspot.com/
Linda Watanabe McFerrin, (www.lwmcferrin.com) is a poet, travel writer, novelist and longtime contributor to numerous national and international publications. Her work has won awards in multiple genres and includes books in poetry, long and short fiction, non-fiction and creative non-fiction. A collection of Linda’s selected works is forthcoming from Alan Squire Publishing in 2019.