Austintown author Nancy Christie makes her fiction debut with “Reinventing Rita,” about an Ohio divorcee who works at a home décor store but who admits she is not very good at design, often choosing the wrong colors and fabrics.
Her mother is suddenly too busy to see her, and her college-age son decides to go to Europe with his girlfriend instead of visiting for the summer. To be fair, they are going on a humanitarian trip, but Rita is still miffed at the cancellation.
As she turns 50, Rita is suffering a generational identity crisis: she’s no longer a wife and no longer a full-time mother. She does have one outlet: baking. Her long-ago ambition of owning a bakery vanished when she married. Now the store where she works is struggling, and despite customers wanting to buy the muffins and other goodies she brings in to share, she just doesn’t grasp that her future is right in front of her.
Rita is despairing that she may have no prospects if the store closes and stubbornly shuts down all advice. Paralyzed by self-doubt and a defeatist attitude, she’s been so invested in others’ lives that she has forgotten to have one of her own. Her attention wanders during conversations.
The story takes place in little Clarksburg, Ohio. (There is a Clarksburg in Ross County, but the book’s geography places this town between Columbus and Cleveland.)
“Reinventing Rita” (321 pages, softcover) costs $16.99 from online retailers. The book’s cover calls it “A Midlife Moxie Novel;” the author’s website says it is the first in a series. Nancy Christie also is the author of three short story collections and two books of advice for writers.
Nancy Christie will sign “Reinventing Rita” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 4015 Medina Road.
‘Midwest Pies: Recipes that Shaped a Region’
What is pie? Is it always sweet? Does it have to have a crust? Cleveland designer Meredith Pangrace takes a tour of the heartland in “Midwest Pies: Recipes that Shaped a Region,” an easygoing combination of cookbook and history lesson.
In her introduction, Phoebe Mogharei, the publicity and marketing director for Cleveland’s Belt Publishing, goes back to the 1796 “American Cookery,” with its Yankee sensibility of using whatever’s in the house. She considers what Civil War soldiers and pioneers ate, and the effect of European immigration.
Pangrace takes over with recipes for five pie crusts, and proceeds with “Angel Pie,” in which the crust is made of meringue. The Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch come in with Bob Andy Pie and Raisin Pie.
The Regional Favorites include recipes with Belgian and African-American influences, and, of course, Ohio Buckeye Pie makes an appearance.
Desperation Pies are made to use up leftover and seasonal ingredients and save money; the only fruit in the still-popular “Mock Apple (Ritz Cracker) Pie” is lemon juice. Fruit, nut and even vegetable pies show up, and a Retro Favorites section is sure to spark bakers’ memories.
“Midwest Pie” (141 pages, softcover) costs $18.95 from Belt Publishing. Meredith Pangrace also is the editor of “Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen” and has designed books for Belt since 2013, including this one.
Ohio authors win awards
Winners of the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards include Massillon native Gwendolyn Kiste, author of the remarkable “Rust Maidens,” in the Bisexual Fiction category for “Reluctant Immortals,” about female vampires in 1967 San Francisco, and Shaker Heights native Kathryn Schulz in the Lesbian Memoir/Biography category for “Lost & Found: A Memoir.”
John Kropf has won the Book Category Independent Division Award from Bowling Green State University’s Center for Archival Collections for “Color Capital of the World: Growing Up with the Legacy of a Crayon Factory,” his memoir of life as a descendant of founders of Sandusky’s American Crayon Company.
Book signings and events
Firelands Book Shop (29 N. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls): Jamey Altizer signs his children’s books “Bobby Bigfoot” and “Pu the Stinky Bear,” 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Geauga County Public Library (Bainbridge branch, 17222 Snyder Road, Chagrin Falls): Sylvia Mustonen talks about “New Medicine for a New Millennium: A Memoir Looking Front to Back in Time at a Black Woman’s Life in Medicine”), 7 to 8 p.m. Monday. Register at geaugalibrary.net.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (North Hill branch, 60 S. High St.): Lindsay Bonilla, author of “Polar Bear Island,” appears at Storytime, 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Middleburg Heights branch, 16699 Bagley Road): Katherine Reay discusses her historical novel “A Shadow in Moscow,” about Soviet spies in 1954 and in 1980, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library: Polly Stewart discusses her debut novel “The Good Ones,” about a woman who returns to her Appalachian hometown to investigate a disappearance, in a Zoom event from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.): Fiona Davis talks about her novel “The Spectacular,” about a 1950s woman who joins the Rockettes and meets a man developing the art of psychological profiling, 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): Mark Dawidziak, author of “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone,” “Mark Twain in Ohio” and other books about Twain, presents “Moralists in Disguise: Rod Serling and Mark Twain,” 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. From 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Wanda M. Morris talks about “Anywhere You Run,” about two Black sisters during the Civil Rights movement in 1964 Mississippi. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Parma-Powers branch, 6996 Powers Blvd.): Susan Wiggs discusses “Welcome to Beach Town,” about a surfer confronting a scandal, 7-8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (Poland branch, 311 S. Main St.): A Local Author Event will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Baseball Heritage Museum (6601 Lexington Ave., Cleveland): Vince Guerrieri talks about “Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant and More!” from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Vincent Castell signs “Cubby the Wonder Dog,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Warrensville Heights branch, 4415 Northfield Road): WJW-TV Wayne Dawson, author of “The Seeds of Greatness Are Within You: A Memoir,” appears from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Massillon Public Library (208 Lincoln Way E.): Larry Ely, author (with his son M.T. Eley) of “Mifflin Drift,” talks about his writing process, followed by a book signing, 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Saturday.
Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): A Firelands Author Showcase features Jim Bollenbacher (“The Signers: The Story of the Cushman Family Chronicles”), R.J. Norgard (Lights at the Portage: A History of the Port Clinton Light Station, 1833-1952”), Joel Rudinger (“Sedna: Goddess of the Sea”), Patrick Lawrence O’Keefffe (“Cold Air Return”) and Emilia Rosa (“Finding Cristina”), 4 p.m. Saturday.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Kathy Ewing signs “A Grandmother’s ABC,” 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.
Akron Civic Theatre (182 S. Main St.): A Night of Poetry features Jason Blakely and open mic opportunities, 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $10 at akroncivic.com.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to [email protected] and [email protected]. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.