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Prendergast Library to host author visit

JAMESTOWN – Prendergast Library will host an author talk and book signing at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7, when Victoria Norvaisa of Erie, Pa., presents a program called Adventures in Publishing My First Book.

“I would like to talk mostly about what happens – or more accurately, what happened to me – when a complete amateur decides to self-publish a book,” she said.

She will also read a short excerpt from her first novel, “Desire and Red Wine, A Life’s Journey,” answer questions, and sign copies for the audience.

Books will be available for sale at a cost of $15, and each buyer also receives a pack of six watercolor note cards created by the author.

“Desire and Red Wine, A Life’s Journey” captures the triumphs and tragedies of one family from Eastern Europe after World War I through the horrors of war in Nazi Germany and ending after World War II in the United States, where parents’ traditional values conflict with a different culture in modern America.

According to the author, “It is a historical and provocative read with many sensual moments of Aurelia’s love and laughter, hopes and shattered dreams, as she marries one man and, yet, can’t help loving another. While dealing with commitment, career, and an alcoholic husband, the women’s liberation movement slowly raises in her a new awareness of self, of who she really is.”

Norvaisa said the story contains vivid detail, intertwines sorrow and humor, and explores a woman’s heart. It also deals with issues of war, immigration and women’s equality, and while it is not a biography, it is based on her life and experiences.

The book can be ordered online through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books123, and is also available in Nook and Kindle formats.

Born in Lithuania, Norvaisa came to the United States in 1949. She grew up in the Philadelphia area, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drexel University before moving to Erie in 1971.

She is well known in Northwest Pennsylvania for her artwork, which can be seen at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Glass Growers Gallery, Ralph Miller Jewelers Gallery in Erie, and the Meadville Market House. She has studied with various local and national artists and attended a painting workshop in Todi, Italy. Her work can be viewed at www.VictoriaNorvaisa.com and on www.representingfineartists.com .

She has exhibited at the Allentown Art Festival, the Stonewall Gallery of Campbell Pottery Barn, Panorama in Erie, Shuster Gallery of Gannon University, and Cummings Gallery of Mercyhurst University. A member of the Northwest Pennsylvania Artist Association and the Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution Partners, she contributes work to many benefit auctions. Her book signing is free and open to the public. For information, call 484-7135. The library is located at 509 Cherry St., Jamestown.

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