2X THE TALENT: Winslow bookstore hosts double bill of local authors

Published 10:22 am Saturday, January 30, 2016

Characters in quandary abound during Eagle Harbor Book Company’s upcoming double bill of visiting local authors on Sunday, Jan. 31.

An aspiring ballerina seeking perspective in the arctic and a floundering florist finding her way with her canny canine companion; these are the protagonists brought to life in Jennifer Longo’s “Up to This Pointe” and Kristin von Kreisler’s “Earnest,” respectively, and both will be stopping by the shop to talk about these, their latest published works.

First, from noon to 1 p.m., Longo will arrive to talk about her sophomore offering, a young adult adventure of self discovery.

Longo was a ballerina from the age of 8 to 18, until she eventually (though reluctantly) admitted her talent for writing exceeded her talent for dance. The author of “Six Feet Over It,” she holds an MFA in Writing for Theater from Humboldt State University, where her obsessive love of Antarctica produced her thesis play about the region’s storied Age of Exploration, a theme which her latest book revisits.

She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter. Learn more about her writing at www.jenlongo.com.

In “Up to This Pointe,” the main character Harper had a solid life plan, and then it suddenly went south.

Really, really south.

Harper is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. Harper won’t let anything or anyone get in the way of “The Plan,” not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.

Harper also happens to be related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing Roald Amundsen and Ernest Shackleton to the South Pole.

So when Harper’s life takes an unexpected turn, she finagles her way to the icy dark of McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

It’s extreme, but somehow fitting. Apparently, she has always been in the dark, dancing on ice the whole time. And no one warned her. Not her family, not her best friend and not even the boy who has somehow found a way into her heart.

It will take a visit from Shackleton’s ghost — the explorer who didn’t make it to the South Pole, but who got all of his men out alive — to teach Harper that success isn’t always what’s important. Sometimes it’s more important to learn how to fail successfully.

Then, from 3 to 4 p.m., Bainbridge Island’s own Kreisler will visit the store to talk about her new book, her follow up to the much-acclaimed “An Unexpected Grace.”

Kreisler writes articles and bestselling books about animals.

To get her stories, she has traveled to some pretty wild locales — including following a grizzly bear for a week, hang gliding to see how an eagle feels soaring through the sky and watching in awe as millions of bats emerged from a cave at dusk like clouds of smoke.

Visit her on Facebook or at www.kristinvonkreisler.com to learn more.

Like her first novel, “Earnest” features a puppy protagonist who aides his humans in overcoming difficulties. It is, in fact, this one’s name.

Earnest is the perfect name for the titular character, a sweet, eager-to-please yellow Labrador retriever.

Anna and her boyfriend Jeff fall for him the minute they see those guileless eyes gazing up from behind his gate at Seattle’s Best Friends Shelter.

In no time at all, they’re a pack of three, with Earnest happily romping in their condo on Gamble Island.

During the day, Earnest keeps Anna company in her flower shop, located in a historic gingerbread Victorian on the island’s main street. Anna hopes to buy and restore the house, once owned by her beloved grandmother. But, when that dream is threatened by Jeff’s actions, Anna’s trust is shattered.

For so long, the house has encompassed all her ideals of security, home and family.

Yet, Earnest’s devotion to his two people, and theirs to him, make it impossible for them to walk away from each other.

And when a crisis hits, it’s Earnest — honest, stubborn and uncannily wise — who will help Anna reconcile her past and embrace what the future can bring.

EHBC, located at 157 Winslow Way East, is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.