FORT KENT, Maine — Local bookseller Bogan Books will present Aroostook County author Vaughn Hardacker in conversation at 6 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 10, in a Facebook Live event on the company’s page.
In this new author event format, designed for social distancing, Hardacker and Bogan owner Heidi Carter will discuss his latest book, “The Exchange,” which was released Sept. 4.
The thriller follows Dylan Thomas, a former Maine State Police officer turned private investigator, on his hunt to find his missing niece.
Thomas is at his Cross Lake camp on an ice fishing trip, when he receives a call at 4 a.m. from his sister. She tells him that not only is her 4-year-old daughter missing, but the police also believe she and her husband are responsible. Dylan rushes to their aid and soon finds himself immersed in a life-and-death race to stop an illegal adoption money scheme being run by a Boston group known as The Exchange. The chase will take him from northern Maine to the Belgrade Lakes Region and on to Boston, where to save his niece, he must deal with the city’s most ruthless criminals.
“We are thrilled to host this event. The Facebook format allows us to do this in a safe way while there continues to be a concern for COVID-19,” Carter said.
“This solution also allows the event to remain interactive. Attendees can post questions in the comments that Vaughn will be able to answer. And we are able to offer this event free to the public,” she said.
With COVID-19 restrictions, the size of the store does not allow for in-person events such as this.
“There’s pros and cons to everything. While we prefer our authors to enjoy their audiences in our shop, Facebook allows us to reach a larger audience. We hope people outside of the immediate area will take advantage of this opportunity,” Carter said.
Hardacker has several other novels to his name. Three of them, “Sniper,” “The Fisherman” and “Wendigo” were finalists in the Crime Fiction category of the 2015, 2016, and 2018 Maine Literary Awards. His fifth novel, “My Brother’s Keeper,” was released on July 2, 2019.
He is a member of the New England chapter of the Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He is also a veteran of the U. S. Marines and served in Vietnam. He holds degrees from Northern Maine Technical College, the University of Maine and Southern New Hampshire University.
Hardacker lives in Stockholm, where he is working on his next crime thriller.
For more information, email boganbooks@gmail.com or visit the bookshop on Facebook.
