Danvers|Local Event
Zoom Program: Author Leslye Penelope Discusses "The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass"
Back by (very) popular demand, we are thrilled to welcome author Leslye Penelope to our virtual stage! We hosted Leslye years ago and we had such a great conversation so we expect we'll have another great time. This time, Leslye will be discussing her new book, "The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass" which she tells us is not strictly a romance but with a strong romantic subplot - you know what? We'll take it!
Save your sister, doom the world. For five years, Zahara Douglass has been haunted by her sister’s impossible disappearance. Now, in December 1999, with the world on the brink of chaos, Zahara sets out to find her sister no matter the cost in this twisty and compelling modern fantasy. Sounds awesome, right? We hope you can join us for this fun discussion!
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
About the Book:
In April 1995, Zahara watched her twin sister, Annica, get hustled into a stranger’s car and disappear—only to return to a world where no one remembers Annica ever existed. Not her mother. Not the police. No one.
Five years later, as the world braces for the looming Y2K crisis, Zahara finds evidence proving her sister is real. Determined to uncover the truth, she hires a private investigator and begins digging into her family’s shadowed past. When the investigation leads to two charismatic men who once served with her father in Vietnam, Zahara realizes she and her sister may be pawns in a dangerous power struggle with unthinkable consequences.
To find Annica, Zahara must face the truth about her family, her memories, and the power lurking within her. But the twins’ reunion comes at a price—one that could unravel reality and bring about the end of the world.
About Leslye:
Leslye Penelope, who also writes as L. Penelope, has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Her debut novel Song of Blood & Stone was chosen as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. The novel also won the inaugural award for Best Self-Published Fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Her novel The Monsters We Defy won the 2023 Audie Award for Best Fantasy Audiobook.
She was born in the Bronx, not long after the birth of hip hop, but left before she could acquire an accent. Equally left and right-brained, she studied film production at Howard University and minored in computer science. This led to a master’s degree in multimedia and a career in website development. She’s also an award-winning independent filmmaker, co-founded a literary magazine, and sometimes dreams in HTML.
Leslye is an alumna of VONA/Voices and Hurston/Wright Writers Workshop. She has spoken and taught at conferences and festivals around the country including the Baltimore Book Festival, Romance Writers of America, Writers Digest Annual & Novel Writing Conferences, and the Historical Novel Society.
Her podcast, My Imaginary Friends, offers a glimpse behind the scenes of the author life. Leslye lives in Maryland with her feline dependents.
Presented in collaboration with the Ashland Public Library and other area libraries.