An award-winning author with experience as an academic librarian and a talent for painting vivid pictures of life in rural Oklahoma through her mystery novels will share her recipe for success as the city of Glendale’s Writer in Residence from September to November.

Donis Casey will provide several free workshops at the four Glendale Public Library sites and meet one-on-one for consultations with anyone seeking advice on writing.

Casey, a former academic librarian at Arizona State University and University of Oklahoma, wrote the Alafair Tucker Mysteries, which are historical mystery novels about a married woman, Alafair, with 10 children living on a farm in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, during the booming 1910s.

Residents can ask questions and bring writing for Casey to review during free, half-hour consulting sessions at the Foothills Library during her Writer in Residence visits. Participants must register for a session at http://gplaz.org/events or by calling 623-930-3600.

Casey also will provide these workshops:

• Creating the World of Your Story: Learn how to create a setting that is authentic as possible at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at Heroes Regional Park Library, 6075 N. 83^rd Ave.
• The Plot Thickens: Learn techniques to maintain readers’ interest throughout the novel at 3 p.m. Sept. 21 at Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57th Ave.
• Dialog, Dialect and Voice: Discover how you can use dialog to reveal information about your characters at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Velma Teague Library, 7010 N. 58th Ave. 
• Memoir and Autobiography: Learn how to use personal memories in powerful storytelling at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Main Library, 5959 W. Brown St. 
• Characters are Everything: Explore proven techniques for creating compelling characters at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57^th Ave.
• Getting Published: Delve into ways to get your book or story published at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57^th Ave.

Casey’s first novel, “The Old Buzzard Had It Coming” was named an Oklahoma Centennial Book, and Casey won the Arizona Book Award twice. Casey penned two spin-off books to the Alafair Tucker Mysteries – “The Wrong Girl” and “Valentino Will Die,” which are part of the Bianca Dangereuse Hollywood Mysteries.

“If you want a reputable publisher, you have to have a hide like a rhinoceros and incredible patience,” Casey stated in a press re;ease. “Even Stephen King got lots of rejections. If you’ve got a book burning in you, you should get it on paper, I at least know the technique and I’m very glad to get people started.”

To learn about the Writer in Residence and other Glendale Public Library programs, visit Home - Glendale Public Library (glendaleazlibrary.com)