We invite you to a book signing and talk with Sarah Blanchard, author of the psychological thriller Drawn from Life.

This event is free and open to the public. Signed copies will be available for purchase. For more information call 508-949-6232.

In her debut novel, writer Sarah P. Blanchard tackles complex themes of betrayal, abandonment, guilt, and the destructive power of lies. She has always been drawn toward flawed, compassionate characters who believe they must battle their demons alone; and complex antagonists who feel they have nothing to lose. She found the spark for her her psychological suspense story DRAWN FROM LIFE in an article in The New Yorker, “The Sorrow and Shame of the Accidental Killer” (Alice Gregory, September 11, 2017). Wanting to learn more about how an ordinary person might learn to live with—or try to move past—a deep moral injury, Blanchard dug deeper into the traumas people experience when they act, or fail to act, in a way that violates their moral compass. In DRAWN FROM LIFE, Blanchard introduces readers to a troubled family and the unbalanced relationship between two cousins—one an untrustworthy bully, the other a compassionate target who carries an undeserved burden of guilt. 

A Connecticut native, Sarah P. Blanchard graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in literature, and from Nichols College in Dudley, MA with an M.B.A. in marketing. Her short stories, poems, and essays have been widely published in magazines and literary journals. She was a finalist for the 2024 Porch Prize for Fiction and the 2021 Doris Betts Fiction Prize. Her story collection PLAYING CHESS WITH BULLS was published in December 2023. 

Sarah taught English and communications for five years at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, and two semesters of fiction writing at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. She has led many workshops in creative writing while also working as a magazine editor, radio news reporter, textbook editor, and talk show host.