Who: Daria Lavelle in conversation with Sarah Krammen
What: a morning celebrating her debut novel, Aftertaste
Where: T-Bock’s Upstairs
When: Saturday, 6/28 at 11:00am
Author Daria Lavelle will be joined by Sarah Krammen, event coordinator for the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation, for an engaging conversation around her debut novel, Aftertaste, followed by a book signing on Saturday, June 28 at 11:00am at T-Bock’s Upstairs at 206 W. Water St. Everyone is invited to this free event sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation, with support from T-Bock’s and Dragonfly Books.
What if one perfect bite could bring someone back—just long enough to say goodbye? And what if the person serving that dish was falling apart one course at a time?
Aftertaste is a genre-bending feast of a novel that blends ghost story, culinary drama, and aching love story into one unforgettable experience. Haunted by the death of his father, Konstantin Duhovny can taste the presence of ghosts through the foods they once loved—a gift he turns into a calling by reuniting the grieving with the departed over carefully crafted meals. But as he chases closure for others through the fire of New York’s brutal restaurant scene, Kostya begins to lose his grip on what’s real, and who he might hurt in the process. Deliciously strange and deeply human, Aftertaste explores how we grieve, what we crave, and what it means to feed the soul.
Daria Lavelle writes fiction, most of which features some pretty impossible things. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and raised in the New York metro area, her work explores themes of identity and belonging through magic and the uncanny. Aftertaste is her debut novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Matter, The Deadlands, Dread Machine, and more, with work shortlisted by The Masters Review and The Molotov Cocktail Zine. She holds a degree in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing from Princeton and an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence, where she focused on Speculative Fiction. When she’s not inventing worlds or distorting this one, she enjoys opera, escape rooms, and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. She lives in the Garden State with her husband, their hyperactive golden doodle, and their three magical children, who are in training to learn how to make stuff up, too.
Sarah Krammen is the events coordinator for the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation and manager of Dragonfly Books. With over a decade in independent bookselling, she brings a love of storytelling and community-building to every event she curates. From author conversations to creative literary programming, Sarah is dedicated to fostering spaces where readers and writers can connect, discover new ideas, and celebrate the power of books.
This event is part of Dragonfly Books and the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation’s robust author event series, which brings top-notch writers of all genres to Northeast Iowa to lead in conversations about literature and writing. To learn more about this event and other events with Dragonfly Books, visit www.dragonflybooks.com.
If you find that you can’t make it to the event but would still like to purchase any books from this author talk, give Dragonfly Books a call at 563-382-4275. Our staff will be glad to reserve a book, have it autographed for you, and shipped out as needed.
