The Author of Nora Grey Will Appear in Conversation With Jo Kaplan
Diesel, A Bookstore in Brentwood, will host author Kathleen Kaufman on Wednesday, July 30, at 6:30 p.m. for a discussion and signing of her latest novel, The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey. Kaufman will be joined in conversation by fellow horror author Jo Kaplan.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the bookstore’s outdoor courtyard. Seating is limited, and attendees may reserve a seat by purchasing a copy of the featured book here.
Kaufman’s newest release, described as a chilling blend of historical fiction and feminist Gothic horror, follows a young Scottish woman named Nairna Liath, who travels the countryside performing spiritual hoaxes with her father—until a mysterious Edinburgh-based Spiritualist Society recognizes her true psychic abilities. As Nairna crosses the veil between worlds, she forms a supernatural connection with her long-deceased grandmother, Lottie Liath, whose tragic past becomes key to Nairna’s future.
After a scandal rocks the Spiritualist circle, Nairna reinvents herself as Nora Grey and relocates to a quiet community near Boston. But her past resurfaces when she’s invited to perform a public séance at the Old South Meeting Hall—where she must confront her destiny and the ghosts who have shaped it.
Kaufman, a professor at Santa Monica College, is known for her work in magical realism and feminist horror, including The Lairdbalor, Hag, and the Diabhal trilogy. Her writing has been praised as “crisp” and “elegant” by Kirkus Reviews and “genuinely chilling” by Booklist.
Kaplan, who will moderate the discussion, is the Shirley Jackson Award–nominated author of It Will Just Be Us and When the Night Bells Ring, and teaches writing at Glendale Community College.
