Bookstore celebrates milestone with author’s book signing
The Mad Hatter book store in West Kelowna is celebrating 35 years in the community with its Àrst author signing.
Come by the store Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. to meet new author Kevin Weisbeck who will be signing his two books, Madeline’s Secret and The Darkness Within.
Originally from Kelowna, Weisbeck currently lives in Okotoks, Alta., where he moved for work after Kelowna's Western Star truck-building plant closed. He is looking forward to moving back to the Okanagan after he retires. He began to write about 10 years ago as a hobby. “I always had the imagination and I Àgured maybe I can turn something like that into an actual story that people would want to read,” said Weisbeck.
Weisbeck said his books are lighter reading, good to take to the beach, the cottage or camping.
“It carries you away, you enjoy the ride and it’s got some really nice twists in it,” he said.
Madeline’s Secret is a romance suspense set in Paris about a woman who loses her memory after being in a car accident.
“You can imagine waking up in a hospital out of the blue. You don’t know who you are. You’re introduced to these two Àne people who are your parents,” he said.
As she is trying to Àgure out who she is, Madeline realizes she has a pretty crazy secret.
“Everybody who’s read it so far has loved it,” said Weisbeck. “There are a couple of nice twists in there too that I hope people don’t see coming.”
The Darkness Within is a thriller about a man who makes a mistake. He’s on his way home to tell his wife about it when his plane crashes. He learns a lot about himself as he struggles to survive in the wilderness.
Madeline’s Secret and The Darkness Within were released about a week apart last June.
Weisbeck’s latest book, The Eve of Humanity, the start of a series of books, will be published shortly.
“I actually have about 12 or 14 books written right now,” he said.
“The hardest part about writing to me is the courage to put it out there and see if it’s worthy.”
Weisbeck said he enjoys writing, clearing the stories out of his head and onto a page.
This will be Weisbeck’s Àrst signing and he’s looking forward to it being in home territory.
“I've had so much positive feedback,” he said about his books. “They're suspenseful, they're fast reads and everybody tells me they're a fun read.”
The Mad Hatter book store is located in Plaza 97 South, 2483 Main St. in West Kelowna.