Thurs., Dec.13 at 5:30.

The Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain (308 State St.) will host six local authors offering lively, fun four-minute presentations of their work, with free hors d’oeuvres, a drawing for free books, and a cash bar. The authors include Amy Allen ( Summoning the Mountains), Patricia S. Christy (The Education of Temple Fox), Sheridan Hill (personal biographer who will stay for free memoir consults), Bob MacDicken (Love and Breath), Nancy Werking Poling (Out of the Pumpkin Shell, Had Eve Come First and Jonah Been a Woman), and Jerald Pope (Madeleine Claire and the Dinosaur, The Minute Elf.) Be sure to come on time to catch each author and enjoy refreshments until they run out.