The Orphan Train Comes to San Jose (and other interesting tidbits)

On June 6, I posted that The Tabard Theater in San Pedro Square (TOPS) was going to begin production of Homeward Bound:  An Orphan Train Journey.  The theater company was looking for donations to send 5 people to a conference in the Midwest.  Well, now TOPS is hosting the 1st ever West Coast Orphan Train Conference (sponsored by the National Orphan Train Complex - NOTC).  It runs 2 days, September 18-19, and it will coincide with the beginning of the production run.  Here's a little blurb about the event.

This two-day conference will include presentations on the Orphan Train Project, the Orphan Train Movement, How to Research an Orphan Train Rider plus much, much more.

It also includes a dinner and the opening night of the play.  Go on their website - tabardtheater.org - for more details.

In other news...

1.  Don't forget that this coming Thursday, the 20th, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers, will be in Oakland, promoting her new book, We Never Asked for Wings.  A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair is sponsoring her, but she will be appearing at the Montclair Presbyterian Church, located at 5701 Thornhill Drive.  You all know that Flowers is in my top 12 all-time.  So, naturally, I'm very excited to see her and get a (signed) copy of her new book.  And if you can't make it Thursday, you can go to Book Passage in Corte Madera on Friday night and see her there.  She will be at each site from 7-8:30.  CAN'T WAIT!

2.  Just learned that Cometh the Hour, book 6 in Jeffrey Archer's The Clifton Chronicles, will be hitting the stores in February.  If you haven't read this series yet, get on it.  It's fantastic. In fact, I (almost) guarantee that if you read #1, Only Time Will Tell, you will finish all 5 before February.  That's how good this series is!

3.  Last, and certainly not least, our own local author, Ann Bridges, will be releasing her new novel, Private Offerings, on September 15.  Go to balcony7.com, her publisher's website, and click on EVENTS.  You will see all of the places that Ann will be signing her book, including Recycle Books on Sunday morning, September 27, during the Farmers Market.  I read it and enjoyed it.  It's very Silicon Valley - the world of IPO's combined with international intrigue (and some romance thrown in).  Pick a date and a location to see Ann, buy a copy of her book, and get it signed.

NEXT UP:  Reviews of Vendela Vida's The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty and Meg's The Race for Paris.