A Cold War love story wrapped inside an environmental thriller.
Kay Smith-Blum's debut novel, Tangles, is redefining historical fiction. This fast-paced, character-driven tale defies genre, mixing elements of suspense, thriller, and romance to create a page-turning read. Smith-Blum dives deep into the craft behind the book, revealing techniques used to create authenticity for not just time and place but also character. She discusses how snappy dialogue can define characters; how dual narrative can build suspense; how metaphors that express character emotions can also explain technical information that readers need to follow the “science” of a scene. Balancing humor and heartbreak, personal crisis and devastating events, Smith-Blum reminds the reader/listener of the price of love, loyalty and family, and the enduring solace of nature.
Books will be available for purchase courtesy of Roundabout Books.
Author Bio
Kay Smith-Blum, a former fashionista and Seattle School Board President, spends her days debunking the tropes of the mid-20th-century history. An odd dream and the recent upheaval over leaking radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear site compelled her to write Tangles, named 2024 Book of the Year by the Literary Global Book Awards and Best Debut Fiction by the American Writing Awards 2024. Smith-Blum, a sunrise writer, has lived in Seattle for four decades. She works out her writer’s block in her sons’ gardens (which she designed) and the nearest lap pool.
Questions? Contact beccar@dpls.lib.or.us
AGE GROUP: | Adult |
EVENT TYPE: | Write Here | Adult Program |
The two-story, 38,855-square-foot library opened in 1998 and features exposed beams and high ceilings, complemented with eastward-facing windows, looking over Bend’s civic square.
