Author/Artist Ronnie Levine to Talk About Her First Novel, a Mystery, at The Warner Library in Tarrytown

Author and artist Ronnie Levine will talk about and read excerpts from her first novel, The Ice Cream Shop Detective, in an open-to-the-public program at Warner Library in Tarrytown on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 7 p.m.

The central characters in the plot are a talented artist named Lisa Franklin and Nick Bellini, a detective whose parents own the ice cream parlor in Tarrytown where she paints. Integral to the plot is her ability to distinguish between an imitation on canvas and a genuine masterpiece.

Refreshments will be served and copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the author following the talk.

Source of inspiration

In the story, the artist acquires her skill in spotting phonies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art by copying the work of famous artists. So did Levine in real life. (See her copy of Madame Monet on a Garden Bench, painted at the museum about twenty years ago.)  

"Copying masterworks is a time-honored tradition for figurative artists in training, with much insight gained by studying every inch of a painting over a long period of time," Levine explained. "This Monet is not just a beautiful scene, but it's also full of emotion, and that's where a forger often falls short."

Levine grew up in Riverdale. 

"I began studying art, something I'd always wanted to do, after graduating from NYU and a year of grad school in social psychology," said Levine. "Art was my passion, and I'm glad I pursued it. I think my years of studying psychology have not gone to waste at all, and have helped me endure as my truest artist self." 

Levine studied at the Art Students League in Manhattan and also attended the International Center of Photography and the Art Institute of Boston.

In the late 1990s, she began painting every day, often in the Rivertowns along the Hudson. She contributed more than 50 articles to Patch mostly related to art and people in the arts.

"People I met told me I'd love Tarrytown, and in the spring of 2001 I came and found that to be absolutely true," Levine said. "It's been the main but not exclusive focus of my work most of the time since then." 

The book can be purchased in Tarrytown at Main Street Sweets, Bella's Boutique, or Harnick Jewelers.

Go to www.theicecreamshopdetective.com for more information.

To obtain as an e-book, click here. For a print version, click here.  

Admission to the talk is free. 

Author Eileen Palma to talk at July 19 meeting

At a Saturday July 19, 2014 meeting at 11 a.m., author Eileen Palma will relate how she found a publisher for her romantic comedy novel Worth the Weight, released on April 28, 2014, and she will read passages from the book. The book has similarities to “You've Got Mail, ” a Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan movie, in that its two central figures are at first unaware they are professionally adversaries. 

The Warner Library, located at 121 N. Broadway (Route 9), Tarrytown, is at the corner of Wildey Street, www.warnerlibrary.org, 914-631-7734. Free parking is available in the library parking lot and on the street alongside neighboring Patriots' Park.