Author Lee appearing at Eisenhower

• Reprints

Updated: October 30, 2011 1:05AM

For members of Red Feather Society, inviting award-winning romance novelist Jade Lee was an easy choice for speaker at their High Tea With the Ladies event at the Eisenhower Public Library, 4613 N. Oketo Ave., Harwood Heights, this month.

“We met Ms. Lee at a RT (Romantic Times) Booklovers Convention last year,” said Nancy Devlin, head of Children’s Services at the Eisenhower Public Library. “We heard her speak and she is so funny. We love her to death,” said Devlin one of the co-founders of the group.

Eisenhower Librarian Mary Ryan is the other founding member.

For the ladies of the Red Feather group, which started about a year and a half ago, it’s all about romance.

“We’re not like some book clubs that choose one book and discuss it,” Devlin said. “We read whatever we like and share what we’ve read. We don’t all read the same book at the same time. It’s like getting together with your girlfriends to talk about books we love.”

Devlin said she has gone a bit high tech with the discussions.

“I pull up the RT (Romantic Times) book review website and post comments from the group to a document that I email to those are not in attendance for the discussion so they know what we’ve discussed,” Devlin said. “Some of the members also use eReaders.”

The Red Feather Society has about a dozen members.

“We meet at 7 p.m. every second Monday at the library,” Devlin said.

Why romance?

“I’m a fierce defender of people being able to read whatever they like,” Devlin said. “Our group is an open and accepting.”

Upexa Kevat, a 26 year-old Triton College student joined the group recently.

“I’ve always read romance novels and would order so many books from the library and Nancy asked if I would like to join their group,” said Kevat, a former employee of the Borders book store in Norridge that recently closed.

Kevat said she likes various genres in addition to romance novels.

“There are people who are hesitant to read romance novels,” Kevat said. “They take you to a whole other world. I’m looking forward to meeting Jade Lee.”

Lee has a husband and two daughters in their 20s. She’s written 32 books and has won numerous awards.

“I look forward to answering questions and talking about writing romance novels,” Lee said.

Lee fell easily into the romance novel genre she said because she’s always liked the idea of falling in love and living happily ever after.

“I’ve always told stories. I earned my masters in fine arts in 1986 from the University of Southern California and started writing screenplays,” Lee said. “I got married and my husband took a job in Illinois. I currently reside in Champaign, Ill. It’s really hard to sell screenplays in Illinois.”

Lee said she started reading romance novels at age 12.

Her latest novel titled “Wicked Seduction,” is about a pirate slave who escapes from a pirate ship and meets a woman and falls in love.

Lee,said her books are always about the emotional connection between two people.

“My characters always have deeper issues that they work through together as they fall in love,” Lee said.

Lee said males are among her fan base.

“They feel embarrassed to be seen reading my novels but eReaders help with that,” Lee said. “They will come to book signings. Under five percent of my fans are male but the number is growing.”

Lee also writes under the pseudonym Kathy Lyons for Harlequin Romance.

The event is 3 p.m. July 16 and is sponsored by the Friends of the Eisenhower Public Library.

Registration is required. First preference will be given to library district residents. Tea and food will be provided.

For more information, call the library at ((708) 867- 7828 and ask for Nancy Devlin.