Westport Historical Society Presents A Book Signing and Reading with Barbara Pearson-Rac

A meet the author talk and book signing with Author of Mystery Novel ‘On Track’
Westporter Barbara Pearson-Rac will discuss writing her first novel, a “fun little caper” about four women who stumble on a sinister plot while commuting to New York City, during a book signing Nov. 15 from 1 to 3 pm at the WHS. Pearson-Rac’s “On Track: a Diana Jeffries Mystery” features a title character who is a criminology professor and three women friends, all described as “young seniors.” The author is herself a former adjunct criminology professor and young senior.

The book, published Aug. 14 by Amazon.com, is based in part on the writer’s experiences working with the Boston Police Department when she taught criminology as a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts.
But the real impetus came when she started commuting to the city in 2001 and became friends with three other women passengers. “One day one of them said, ‘We should write a book about ourselves’,” Pearson-Rac said, and that was the beginning of her “journey” as an author, a journey that found her teaching herself how to write a novel.

First, she wrote bios of characters based on her fellow commuters, older women who are “established in their careers and can gallivant around,” then created some new ones. As for the plot, she said she was going off in different directions, but that it was amazing how her imagination was able to pull it all together. Eventually she hired an editor to fine-tune the manuscript and commissioned a cover design by Westport graphic artist Miggs Burroughs. She had so much fun writing “On Track” that she has already started book two in the Diana Jeffries series, “All Ears.”

The author is president of the Board of directors of First Night Westport/Weston, chair and founder of Westport’s Make A Difference Day and vice president of the Breast Cancer Survival Center.

There is a $15 donation and reservations are recommended. (203) 222-1424.