"Northline" is the second novel of Willy Vlautin, lead singer/songwriter of cult American band Richmond Fontaine. After the publication of his first novel, "Motel Life", many critics hailed him as the successor to Carver and Bukowski. This is a rare chance to meet the man of many talents. Further ... (more)details: 0141 332 9105

Vlautin, author of the acclaimed debut novel The Motel Life and lead singer of the alt-country band Richmond Fontaine, returns to Vroman's to present his new novel, Northline. Set in the outskirts of Vegas and Reno, Northline follows Allison Johnson as she flees her violent skinhead boyfriend Jimmie, ... (more)just as she's about to have his baby. Imagined conversations with her hero, Paul Newman, sustain her through her loneliest times until she meets Dan Mahoney, an outsider himself looking to move beyond his circumstances. Full of memorable characters and imbued with a beautiful sense of yearning, Vlautin's work has been praised by The Bookseller (London) as possessing “the tone of a Tom Waits song or Bukowski poem.” In addition to a reading, Vlautin will perform his music live as well!

Waucoma Bookstore is hosting author Willy Vlautin and Gorge Literacy and for First Friday on Friday, June 6th at the bookstore from 5:00-8:00pm. Student writers from Columbia Gorge Community College will be signing “Shared Voices.” “Shared Voices” is an annual publication of writings submitted ... (more)by students in the following programs: Adult High School Diploma, English as a Second Language, GED Preparation, Gorge Literacy, High School Credit Completion, and Spanish GED Preparation. Portland Author Willy Vlautin will be signing his new book “Northline.” He is the lead singer and main songwriter of the alternative country band Richmond Fontaine. “Northline” includes a limited edition CD soundtrack scored and performed by Vlautin and Paul Brainard. About the book "Northline" Allison Johnson has learned not to expect much from life. Paralyzed by self-consciousness and self-loathing, she finds herself lost in an abusive relationship with Jimmy Bodie, a skinhead, until a final act of violence causes her to leave him. Allison catches a bus north to Reno to have Jimmy’s baby—which she has not told him about—living first in a hospital-run home for girls, waiting to give her baby up for adoption. Money she receives from the new parents helps her to start a new life, and she finds an apartment, then a job working the graveyard shift as a waitress at the Cal Neva Top Deck restaurant. But haunted by regrets, and uncertain of her future, she continues to struggle with her anxiety, drinking to mask her pain, and her crippling fear that Jimmy might find her. Imagined conversations she has with screen idol Paul Newman, and the characters he played, sustain Allison and encourage her to keep moving forward. And kind people she meets along the way—a truck driver named TJ Watson; Penny Pearson who hires her to do tele-sales; a fatherly bar tender—gently guide her toward a lighter, kinder life. She even begins to date Dan Mahony, a regular at the Top Deck who, like Allison, is looking for a way to move beyond his own painful past. Full of memorable characters and imbued with a beautiful sense of yearning, *NORTHLINE* has been praised by /The Bookseller/ (London) as possessing “the tone of a Tom Waits song or Bukowski poem.” Capturing his native Reno in an indelible, and unforgettable way, Vlautin has also attracted significant attention from the film world, with *NORTHLINE* under option by producer Jeffrey Sharp (/Boys Don’t Cry/, /You Can Count on Me/, and /Proof/) of Sharp Independent at HarperCollins, and /The Motel Life/ optioned to Guillermo Arriaga, the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of /Babel//. /