Westerly Library and Wilcox Park, in partnership with Bank Square Books, is excited to present "On Writing", a panel discussion with authors about the craft of writing. Deborah Goodrich Royce will lead the discussion and in participation, along with authors Lara Ehrlich, Ann Hood, and Vanessa Lillie. The panel will discuss their writing process and individual practices, their path to publication, where they find inspiration, and advice they give to aspiring writers. There will also be time to take questions from the audience. Following the discussion will be a meet and greet with the panelists, and they will have their books available for purchase. To purchase any of the featured books listed below before the event, please click here. Registration is not required to attend, but it is encouraged. Please register below!

About the Authors:

Lara Ehrlich is the author of the novel Bind Me Tighter Still (Red Hen Press, 2025) and Animal Wife (Red Hen Press, 2020). Lara is the host of Writer Mother Monster, a conversation series devoted to dismantling the myth of “having it all” and offering writer-moms solidarity, support, and advice. She is also the founder and director of Thought Fox Writers Den, located at the Velvet Mill in Stonington. Thought Fox builds community and supports writers of all levels with in-person and virtual workshops, coaching, events, and more. Her featured book is Animal Wife.

Ann Hood is the author of a dozen books of memoir and fiction, including the best-selling novels, The Book That Matters Most, The Red Thread, and The Knitting Circle. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York. Her featured novel is The Stolen Child.

Vanessa Lillie is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the author of the bestselling suspense novels Little Voices and For the Best. With fifteen years of marketing and communications experience, Vanessa hosts a weekly Instagram Live event with crime fiction authors and was a columnist for the Providence Journal. She lives on Narragansett land in Rhode Island. Her featured novel is Blood Sisters.

Deborah Goodrich Royce's thrillers examine puzzles of identity. Reef Road hit Publishers Weekly’s Bestseller list, Good Morning America’s Top 15 list, and was an Indie Next pick by the American Bookseller’s Association. Ruby Falls won the Zibby Award for Best Plot Twist in 2021 and Finding Mrs. Ford was hailed by Forbes, Book Riot, and Good Morning America’s “best of” lists in 2019. She began as an actress on All My Children and in multiple films, before transitioning to the role of story editor at Miramax Films, developing Emma and early versions of Chicago and A Wrinkle in Time. With her husband, Chuck, Deborah restored the Avon Theatre, Ocean House Hotel, Deer Mountain Inn, the United Theatre, and numerous Main Street revitalization projects in Rhode Island and the Catskills. Her featured book is Reef Road.