Local author discusses new novel at museum

MOSES LAKE — Author Matthew Sullivan will read selections from his new mystery and talk about the creative process in a lecture at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, 401 South Balsam St.

Admission is free.

Sullivan is the author of “Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore,” which draws on his experience as a bookstore employee in the mid-1990s. Currently Sullivan is a professor at Big Bend Community College, teaching literature, writing and film.

Sullivan’s book is available at the museum, the BBCC bookstore and the Bookery in Ephrata. It’s also available at the Barnes & Noble website and in B&N stores, as well as many independent bookstores, Sullivan said.

The book recounts the events that followed – just like the title says – a murder at the Bright Ideas Bookstore in Denver. Lydia Smith works in the store, and finds it a good place to forget the troubles of her past. But a regular customer commits suicide in the bookstore’s upstairs room, and Lydia’s efforts to put the past behind her are put in jeopardy.

Like the bookstore where Sullivan was employed, the fictional bookstore is located in what realtors call an up-and-coming area. Not everybody who came in was there to buy or look at books – some were homeless and needed a place to hang out. Sullivan addresses some of those issues, homelessness and suicide among them, in the novel.

The book is published by Scribners, and Sullivan called the revision process “publishing boot camp,” requiring about 18 months of rewriting, adding and subtracting characters and plot lines.

“I learned a lot, especially about the importance of pacing in storytelling, and how important it is to create an urge in readers to turn the page,” he wrote. “This sometimes means cutting sentences, scenes and chapters that have taken ages to get just right. The delete key is a great tool, even if it’s painful.’

Sullivan said publishing boot camp taught him about the business of books. “Even if it’s a business, most agents, editors and publicists are in the job primarily because they love books and reading. That’s a refreshing lesson because that’s why most writers choose to write as well.”

Sullivan will be signing copies of his book after the lecture.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.