Local author Bill Plank poses with his painting, “Valkyrie,” which served as inspiration for his first book.
The Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library is set to host a book launch event featuring local writer Bill Plank.
The event is for the launch of Plank’s first book, The Maiden-Head Mask, published by Red Dashboard Publishing. At the event, the author plans to describe how the story developed and came to be published.
Plank is a professional artist and retired art teacher with 25 years of experience teaching art and art history in New Jersey. He continues to produce artwork while honing his writing skills in fantasy and steampunk fiction. Plank now uses his own paintings as inspiration for the stories he writes.
The story was inspired by one of Plank’s paintings entitled “Valkyrie,” and is also the cover art for the book. The book is about a retired sailor who takes up woodcarving and his life-changing encounter with a valkyrie.
Copies of the book will be available at the event through the Friends of the Lawrence Library. The Maiden-Head Mask is also available on Amazon.
The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the library, 2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville.
More information is online at mcl.org.

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