About 75 readers and fans of New York Times best-selling author William Kent Krueger heard him speak at the Grand Junction Community Center last Saturday. He was hosted by the Grand Junction public library.
Krueger, who uses his middle name rather than his first name, is the author of the Cork O’Connor mystery series, which now numbers 18 books, as well as “Ordinary Grace” and “This Tender Land”.
His newest book, “The River We Remember”, will be published in September. The book is a rewrite of a manuscript he wrote about six years ago but was dissatisfied with and put it on a shelf.
Krueger explained that he typically does about 60 speaking engagements a year, but the required isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic gave him more time to write. He pulled out the manuscript for “The River We Remember” and “I knew how to write the story,” he said.
Krueger made prepared remarks for about 45 minutes. He described the encouragement he received from a librarian while working on a reading merit badge as a Boy Scout. He said he thought he didn’t like to read until she suggested “The Count of Monte Cristo”, and then “The Three Musketeers” and “Les Miserable.” He was drawn by the adventure of the old stories.
He referred to libraries as “important guides to our understanding of the world” and as “the archives of our culture.”
He used the Horton the Elephant books by Dr Seuss as examples of stories that teach important lessons, like faithfulness in “Horton Hatches the Egg” and being a good person in “Horton Hears a Who.”
During a Qs & As Krueger was asked the difference between writing mysteries and his stand-alone books. He answered that a mystery is an intellectual construct and comes from his brain, while the stand-alone books came from his heart. He called writing “Ordinary Grace” and “This Tender Land” “extraordinary creative experiences.”
Readers have another opportunity to hear an author speak Wednesday, May 24. Ann Hanigan Katz, author of “The journey of Karoline Olsen,” will speak at 2 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson. She will be hosted by the Jefferson public library. All are welcome.
