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Published: 09 February 2021

Next Chapter Booksellers Hosts "The Sting of Love" Author Feb. 16

   In honor of Valentine's Day, Twin Cities author Janet Graber  read from her debut adult novel, The Sting of Love, at a virtual event being sponsored by Next Chapter Booksellers of St. Paul, Minnesota on Feb. 16. ( A preview story about the event published in the Feb. 14 Pioneer Press). 

   When The Sting of Love begins, Georgina is about to visit her ather in England to celebrate his 77th birthday, decades after he fought in WWII. She is astonished when he asks if she will accompany him back to Trieste in Northern Italy. He had always refused to set foot in Europe again. What changed? And why now?

    Captain James Drummond survived the battlefields of North Africa and Italy. Instead of his anticipated return home to wife and four-year-old daughter whom he had yet to meet, he was assigned to the grim task of military occupation in Trieste. On a summer patrol in 1945 in the disputed hills above Trieste, he encountered a group of Yugoslav partisans, bathing. When he glimpsed a woman emerging from the pool, water cascading down her body, a new conflict emerges with no clear lines, one he had to navigate alone. The war-weary Captain was faced with heart-wrenching choices.

   Meanwhile, Georgina faces her own demons—a stale marriage, a secret affair, and her father's new revelations. Weaving historical facts with fictional characters, The Sting of Love moves seamlessly between Georgina's tumultuous life and that of her father in the aftermath of WWII, viewed through the lens of their several weeks together in Trieste.

    Pick up your copy of the book at Next Chapter Booksellers. 

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Published: 13 February 2021

Winter Carnival Event at The Waters of Highland Park Makes Front Page of the Pioneer Press

  An ice sculptor spent part of the day on Feb. 11 at The Waters of Highland Park in St. Paul, carving giant blocks of ice into the shape of a castle, and two media outlets showed up to share the event with their audiences.
   The ice carving made the front page of the Pioneer Press newspaper, and was also featured on the evening news.... on KSTP Television, the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis. 
   While the artist was hard at work, some residents stepped out on their balconies to watch. Those whose apartments don’t face the courtyard where the work was underway were able to step outside and watch.    Work on the castle was in preparation for a visit on February 20, 2021 by members of the Royal Winter Carnival Court. The entire Court  turned out for a knighting ceremony for residents.  Prior to their arrival, residents will have voted for a King and Queen of the community.