Oswego’s New Book Store “Hooked” on Local Author’s Novel

CONTACT: Joe Guillemette, Old Towne Books & Tea, 63 South Madison St., Oswego, IL; (630) 352-7917 Oldtownbooksandtea@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oswego, December 7, 2009

This holiday season, even grown-ups can fly back to Neverland. But no fairy dust is required. Two new arrivals are providing the magic.

First came the publication of “Hook & Jill,” a fresh vision of Peter Pan, tailored for adult readers by Aurora author Andrea Jones. Next came the opening of Oswego’s independent bookstore, Old Towne Books & Tea, where “Hook & Jill” has been the top seller for three weeks running.

“It’s easy to love such excellent prose, especially [a book] that contains so many artistically layered nuances…the language is just so beautiful, it reaffirmed my love affair with the written word,” says Leah Condon-Guillemette, co-owner of Old Towne Books & Tea. “I really think this book could be the next ‘Twilight.’ ” According to Condon-Guillemette, “Hook & Jill” did an “excellent job of capturing and ‘hooking’ the reader — you NEED to know what the next chapter brings.”

The store and the story have joined together to hook readers, too. Old Towne Books & Tea will host Andrea Jones on Saturday, December 12, as she reads excerpts from “Hook & Jill” and signs copies of her book. The community is invited to attend, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Old Towne Books & Tea is sponsoring other literary events for the public all year round. Besides presenting local authors, the store hosts a book club on the first Wednesday of every month, at 7:00 p.m. “Hook & Jill” is the featured book for the January 6 discussion. Author Andrea Jones will attend that meeting as well. Plans are also in place at the bookshop for a writers’ group.

More reviews of “Hook & Jill” and author appearance dates can be found at www.HookandJill.com and on Facebook’s “Hook & Jill” fan site. Store information is at the Old Towne Books & Tea Facebook fan site, and at http://oldtownebooks.wordpress.com. Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

But readers, be warned. Jones’s Captain Hook might literally capture you. Condon-Guillemette says she loves his “blend of power and dominance, mingling with vulnerability and romance.” She is anxiously awaiting the second book of Jones’s Neverland novels, which will be a series of five or six volumes. Condon-Guillemette nominated “Hook & Jill” for the Indie Next List, a list of recommended books that circulates between bookstores in the national Indie Bound organization.

Awarded as Finalist for Best Cover Design in the National Best Books 2009 Awards, “Hook & Jill” was released by the Reginetta Press on August 1. It is available through all major booksellers. Old Towne Books & Tea is located in downtown Oswego, at 63 South Madison Street. Call (630) 636-9236.

Andrea Jones has lived in the area for over twenty years. She holds a B.A. from the University of Illinois in Oral Interpretation of Literature, with a Literature minor. In her career in television production, she wrote, produced, directed, and managed studios for PBS and CBS affiliates and corporate studios, and acted as on-air talent.

“Hook & Jill” deepens J.M. Barrie’s beloved Peter Pan story at the same time it challenges the original work’s assumptions:

Is prolonged childhood truly desirable?
Can morality be viewed in terms of black and white?
Is there a dark side to innocence?

Jones’s sophisticated pirate story has plundered a number of reviews. “My highest recommendations and regards to ‘Hook & Jill,’ a potent tale of mastery and maturation. Beyond hommage, beyond pastiche, beyond Neverland itself, this book sails dark and sensuous seas,” writes Phil Brucato of Witches & Pagans magazine.

Michael Neff, author of “Year of the Rhinoceros” calls Jones’s story “Edgy and heretical,” while Brooks Sigler, author of “Five Finger Fiction” says, “This is not your nursery room Pan.”

“ ‘Hook & Jill’ is fine spin on the classic, and very much recommended,” says Susan Bethany of the Midwest Book Review.
And, reaching the “pinnacle of pirattitude,” Jones’s book was seized by the official “Talk Like a Pirate Day” book list.

(Photo attached: Award-winning cover art for “Hook & Jill,” created by Hollander Design Lab).