Sarah McCoy with Jenna Blum

Bestselling author Sarah McCoy discusses her spellbinding novel of the Hollywood Golden Age, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?, following a beautiful young movie star who gives up her bright career to become a nun. Sarah will be in conversation with fellow historical fiction writer Jenna Blum, author of the New York Times bestseller Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family. Sarah and Jenna will talk about Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?, answer questions, and sign books.

Ticket options for this event include:

• General Admission + Book: $31.88, admits one guest. This option is bundled with a copy of Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? which Sarah will sign at the event.
• General Admission + Coupon: $5, admits one guest. This ticket option is redeemable for $5 off any of Sarah's books on the night of the event.

Tickets are required to attend. We hope to see you there!

We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please reach out to ZXZlbnRzIHwgYW51bmxpa2VseXN0b3J5ICEgY29t.

ABOUT THE BOOK:In 1969, twenty-three-year-old starlet Lori Lovely, the apple of Hollywood’s eye, shocks the world by ditching a promising film career to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Benedictine nun. Gossip columnists and scandal sheets can’t get enough of the story. Why would such a beautiful girl take the veil? Was she hiding from someone? Did it have anything to do with the tragic death of her costar, heartthrob singer Lucas Wesley?

In 1990, Lu Tibbott is under the gun to complete her senior thesis in modern American history. Instead of spending weeks in dusty archives, Lu decides to dig into a true twentieth-century mystery and write about her aunt Lori, now the Mother Abbess at a cloistered convent in rural New England. Biographers, bloggers, and media types have long speculated about her aunt Lori’s sudden departure from Hollywood. Mother Lori, however, has refused all requests for interviews—until Lu arrives at the abbey with a tape recorder in hand. To her delight, Mother Lori announces she’s finally ready to talk...but only if Lu is truly ready to listen.

Lu is shocked to discover that the story of Lori Lovely’s rise in Hollywood was far more tumultuous than she’d ever expected, a fairy tale twisting with ambition, unforeseen alliances, forbidden love, and secrets. What began as a history thesis now threatens to upend all their lives with its unexpected truths, especially as the media gets wind of Lu’s project and begins to ask…

Whatever happened to Lori Lovely?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novels Whatever Happened To Lori Lovely?, Mustique Island, Marilla of Green Gables, The Mapmaker’s Children, The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee, the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central, and The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico. Her work has been featured in Newsweek, Lit Hub, Write or Die Tribe, Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post, Read It Forward, Writer Unboxed, and other publications. She hosted the NPR WSNC Radio monthly program “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy” and is the founder of The McCoy Grant. Sarah previously taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She lives with her husband Doc B, dog Gilly, and cat Tutu in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Jenna Blum is the New York Times and # 1 internationally bestselling author of the novels Those Who Save Us, The Stormchasers, and The Lost Family. Readers voted her one of the Top 30 Women Writers on Oprah.com and she is the co-founder/CEO of the literary social media marketing company A Mighty Blaze. Jenna earned her MA in Creative Writing from Boston University and has taught writing workshops at Grub Street Writers for more than twenty years. She interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and is a professional public speaker, traveling nationally and internationally. Jenna is based in downtown Boston, where she lives across from Woodrow’s bench and is currently mom to her black Lab puppy Henry Higgins.

Also check out other Arts events in Plainville, Literary Art events in Plainville, Entertainment events in Plainville.