Join Cate McGowan for wine and conversation to celebrate her debut collection, True Places Never Are, at Writer’s Block (124 Welbourne Ave, Winter Park) from 6pm-8pm on Friday, July 10^th.

In her debut collection, Cate McGowan introduces us to a passenger manifest, an assortment of characters voyaging through loss and salvation. The book’s title borrows from Melville’s Moby Dick: “It is not down on any map; true places never are.” McGowan’s characters are off the chart; they venture into wondrous worlds as knotty and distressing as the places they aim to leave.

In another Wine and Conversation hosted by Writer’s Block Bookstore,  at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 2nd, Stacy Barton is celebrating the launch of her fourth book –  a new novella and short story collection. Lily Harp, set on a barrier island off the southwest coast of Florida, is a true Florida story. Please join our fellow Maitland/Winter Park resident, Park Avenue style, as she introduces us to her latest work. Stacy is also a free-lance scriptwriter for Disney and other entertainment companies and is always ready to talk about her writing life.

The young adult novel, The Night We Said Yes, by debut author Lauren Gibaldi will be published June 16, 2015, staged in alternating then and now chapters, crafting a charming, romantic story of first loves, lifelong friendships, uncovered secrets, and, ultimately, finding out how to be brave.

Before Matt, Ella had a plan. Get over a no-good ex-boyfriend. Graduate from high school without any more distractions. Move away from Orlando, Florida, where she’s lived her entire life.

But Matt was never part of that plan.

And neither was attending a party that was crashed by the cops just minutes after they arrived. Or spending an entire night saying “yes” to every crazy, fun thing they could think of.

Then Matt abruptly left town, and he broke not only Ella’s heart but those of their best friends, too. So when he shows up a year later with a plan of his own—to relive the night that brought them together—Ella isn’t sure whether Matt’s worth a second chance. Or if re-creating the past can help them create a different future.