Award-winning La Conner author Ashley Sweeney will talk about the writing process and intrepid women of the Klondike in two completely different programs at two Whidbey Island libraries. Customers will get something different from each presentation. The first event happens at Coupeville Library; the second at Oak Harbor Library

Sweeney’s first novel, “Eliza Waite,” published in May 2016 by She Writes Press, is the fictional account of one shopkeeper who makes her fortune during the Klondike Gold Rush. Sweeney will have copies of her novel available for purchase at both events and will answer questions about her novel after the lectures.

When Were Matchsticks Invented?: Research and Accuracy in Historical Fiction
April 18 at 1:30 at the Coupeville Library

Join Ashley Sweeney as she discusses research and accuracy in writing historical fiction in a lively 50-minute presentation complete with media show and question-and-answer session.

Sweeney is equally fascinated and haunted by the past. Her novel “Eliza Waite” is set in the raucous era of the Klondike Gold Rush, and an upcoming novel set in 19th century Astoria.

Saints, Sinners, Stampeders & Shopkeepers: Life & Times of Klondike Women
April 25 at 2:00 at the Oak Harbor Library

Come hear a lively presentation about the thousands of women who headed north to the Klondike between 1897 and 1899 in search of riches. Ashley Sweeney will present an hour-long lecture with accompanying media show chronicling more than a dozen intrepid women who ventured into a man’s world. Sweeney draws from a vast library and knowledge of the era.