Maddy Hunter, Nicholas Petrie

press release: In celebration of National Library Week, April 10-April 16, the Monona Library has teamed up with Madison’s Mystery to Me Bookstore for A Cook & Two Books featuring nationally recognized culinary instructor Chef Joel Olson from Hemmachef and award-winning local authors Maddy Hunter, author of From Bad to Wurst – part of The Passport to Peril mystery series, and Nicolas Petrie author of The Drifter.  This event will be a unique mash-up of a cooking demo, author readings, Q&A, book signings, and a salute to local partnerships of libraries, bookstores, authors, chefs and food.

Authors Maddy Hunter and Nicholas Petrie will share a bit about their books after which Chef Joel will present his mouth-watering interpretation of their stories, with samples for all.

Nick, Maddy and Chef Joel will talk with the audience about the books and about the inspiration for the culinary creations! Books will be available for purchase and signing from Mystery to Me Bookstore.  

Maddy Hunter’s characters have endured disastrous vacations on several continents in the past five years. Despite this, she aspires to visit all seven continents in the future. The first six titles are available from Pocket Books; books seven through nine are available with Midnight Ink Books. The first in the series, Alpine for You, was an Agatha Award finalist and a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. Also, Hula Done It?, Pasta Imperfect, and Top O’ the Mournin’ were named to the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s Association bestseller list. The author resides in Madison, Wisconsin. Her new book, From Bad to Wurst takes place during Oktoberfest and the globetrotting Iowa seniors are sharing their Sounds of Music adventure in Germany with several oompah bands whose dream of performing in a famous German beer hall is about to be realized. But when a deadly relic from wartime Munich rains disaster on the group, their dreams are shattered—until an unlikely guest offers them new hope.

Nicholas Petrie received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington. He won a Hopwood Award for short fiction while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, and his story “At the Laundromat” won the 2006 Short Story Contest in the Seattle Review. A husband and father, he runs a home appraisal business in Milwaukee.

Nicholas Petrie’s debut novel, The Drifter, has received glowing reviews and critical acclaim from the Huffington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly and author David Baldacci.  The Drifter offers a powerful exploration of the shattered lives of returning veterans, wrapped in the cloak of a riveting thriller. This page-turner pits Peter Ash, a damaged veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, against a criminal web in contemporary Milwaukee. Waging a different kind of battle within, Peter tries to put his own tenuous life together. In an attempt to tune out the noise in his own head, he offers help to the widow of his best friend from the battlefield—an act of reparation that turns deadly.

Chef Joel Olson is a nationally recognized culinary instructor with has over 20 years of teaching experience and continues to teach cooking classes across the nation. A Wisconsin native, who also teaches at  L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland. He enjoys using classic French culinary techniques to students of all ages, along with a global approach to preparing innovative dishes with locally sourced foods.  His approach is infectiously informative and entertaining and his cooking routinely garners rave reviews.

Come and join us to support the partnership of local bookstores, local libraries and great local cooking!  As with all Seasonal Chef programs, there is limited seating so preregistration is a must. Please do not sign up unless you are able to attend. For adults and older teens.  Register at www.mononalibrary.org or call 608 222-6127.