The Friends of Linebaugh Library hosted its Annual Member's Luncheon at 11:00 o'clock Saturday morning and New York Time's best selling author Ruta Sepetys was the guest speaker.

Friends of Linebaugh President Carlton Miller told NewsRadio WGNS that they are currently focusing on the new Community Technology Center that is being constructed next to Hobgood Elementary School, between Minerva Drive and Mercury Boulevard.

(Time: 10-seconds)

Miller commented on Friends of Linebaugh's fundraising efforts last year . . .

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Ruta Sepetys (pronounced: Root-uh Suh-pet-iss) is an internationally acclaimed author of historical fiction published in over fifty countries and thirty-six languages. Sepetys is considered a "crossover" novelist as her books are read by both students and adults worldwide. Her novels, Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy are New York Times bestsellers, international bestsellers, and Carnegie Medal nominees. Her latest novel, Salt to the Sea, is a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her books have won or been shortlisted for over forty book prizes, are included on over twenty state reading lists, and are currently in development for film and television.

Sepetys is the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee. Born in Michigan, she was raised in a family of artists, readers, and music lovers. She attended college to study opera but instead graduated with a degree in International Finance. Prior to publishing her first novel, she spent twenty years in the music industry helping artists and songwriters distill story through song.

Sepetys told the audience, "I enjoy writing historical fiction, because it allows readers to create their own heroes in their minds and develop stories that mean more to them personally."

She continued, "Readers perceive contents of a book in accordance with their own perspective."

Sepetys, who now lives in Nashville, noted that books have the power to create dialogue between opposing views.

Sepetys is the first American crossover novelist to address both European Parliament and Library of Congress. She was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation's prestigious Bellagio Resident Fellowship for Salt to the Sea. She was recently bestowed the Cross of the Knight of the Order by the President of Lithuania for her contributions to education and memory preservation.

Friends of Linebaugh Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed in 1981 to promote the library and its activities through exhibits, special programming and library materials beyond the regular resources of the library.

Hear Complete Carlton Miller interview

(Time: 2-minutes, 30-seconds)