Author Event: Midwestern Stories of Immigration and Womanhood

Overview

Authors Loretta Ellsworth and Anika Fajardo will be discussing their latest novels.

Loretta Ellsworth is the author of the historical novels The French Winemaker's Daughter and Stars Over Clear Lake, and five novels for younger readers.

In the aftermath of World War II, a young Hungarian émigré jilted by a G.I. persuades a Midwestern newspaper editor to help her find an American husband in this poignant novel, based on a true story, from the author of The French Winemaker’s Daughter.

Best-selling author Heather Webb says of Ellsworth novel, "The Jilted Countess is a fascinating and tender tale of new beginnings, finding love in unexpected places, and the path to healing in the aftermath of war. A lovely and immersive read!"

Anika Fajardo was born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota. She is the award-winning author of Magical Realism for Non-Believers, What If a Fish, Meet Me Halfway, and The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore.

In the span of a year, Dolores Moore has become a thirty-five-year-old orphan. After the funeral of the last living member of her family, Dorrie has never felt more lost and alone. That is, except for a Greek chorus of deceased relatives whose voices follow her around giving unsolicited advice and opinions. And they’re only amplifying Dorrie’s doubts about keeping the deathbed promise she made to return to her birthplace in Colombia.

Local author Linda LeGarde Grover describes Fajardo's book "To experience this exquisitely written novel is to join in the wonderment of the quest, supporting and treasuring Dolores in the company of her unseen yet clearly and delightfully heard mothers and ancestors."