Paul Swydan, owner of West Acton’s Silver Unicorn Bookstore, is known for his community involvement and for hosting a slew of entertaining and informative events. On Tuesday, May 20, he teamed up with the owners of the new Silver Girl restaurant, also in West Acton, Dawn Aguiar and Tamara Deluzio, for a delicious three-course dinner during which three local authors each talked about their most recent book. The seventeen guests were split up into three tables. One seat was reserved for an author and after every course they switched tables so that everyone had an opportunity to meet each writer.
My wife and I sat with Paul and Paul’s event coordinator Casey Robinson; a book publicist; and another guest. While we ate a “beet ‘tartare’ salad with goat cheese cremeux”, we talked to Tova Mirvis from Newton about her new book, “We Would Never”. The book jacket says, “Inspired by a true story, ‘We Would Never’ is a gripping mystery, an intimate family drama, and a provocative exploration of loyalty, betrayal, and the blurred lines between protecting and forsaking the ones we love most.” Tova has written three other novels and a memoir. “The Ladies Auxiliary” was a national bestseller. She has written essays for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and Real Simple. Some of her fiction has been broadcast on NPR.
We were then served the main course. Creole Cassoulet, “crispy duck confit with southern-style beans and dressed arugula” or Sicilian stuffed eggplant, described as “roasted eggplant with zucchini, peppers, onions, and panko over fresh marinara.” Tova moved to another table, and we welcomed Ellen Rupple Shell. She wrote “Slippery Beast” subtitled, “A True Crime Natural History, with Eels.” Ellen specializes in science writing and is a professor emeritus of science journalism at Boston University. Some of the publications she has contributed to are the Atlantic, Smithsonian, and the New York Times. About her new book, she writes, “A pound of the bug eyed ‘elvers’ caught in the cold, clear waters of Maine can command $3,000 or more on the black market. Illegal trade in eels is an international scandal measured in billions of dollars every year.” Ellen splits her time between Somerville and Bremen, Maine, and has written four previous books.
The third course was either lemon posset “with blackberry gelee and pistachio biscotti,” or a “maritozzo-brioche bun soaked in cardamom syrup with orange-scented mascarpone cream.” My wife and I got one of each and traded plates when half done. We welcomed the third author, Mark Cecil, from the Boston area. He was a journalist for Reuters and currently works at A Mighty Blaze, a literary social media startup. He also is the host of the podcast, “The Thoughtful Bro,” where he interacts with other writers. Mark talked about his first attempts at publishing a novel, a nightmarish relationship with his first agent, and the process leading up to the successful publishing of his first novel, “Bunyan and Henry,” subtitled, “Or, the Beautiful Destiny.” He writes: “A richly imaginative reinvention of myth, ‘Bunyan and Henry’ is at once a timeless quest, a fresh origin story, and an urgent modern fable that wrestles with the two sides of the American dream — its wild idealism and cruel underbelly — to inspire the awakening of the folk hero in us all.”
It was an enjoyable evening in the comfortable surroundings of the Silver Girl with superbly prepared food and delightful conversations with the three authors. The meal included a gift of one of the books for each person. My wife and I chose different books, and we couldn’t help but buy the third one.
