Author Ellen LaCorte in Fairfield July 11

Fairfield, CT - A new domestic thriller, THE PERFECT FRAUD, by re-careering writer Ellen LaCorte is a hit with fiction readers. The story centers around a female psychic named Claire, who comes from a generation of gifted psychics. The problem is that Claire isn’t one of them. Although she’s trained in psychic trade craft such as reading Tarot cards, she mostly fakes it—that is until she encounters a sick child who needs help. 

THE PERFECT FRAUD has received rave reviews – including from psychics. “The book is based on an actual psychic shop in Sedona, Arizona where I lived for 25 years,” said LaCorte. “The owner of the shop read the book and liked it a lot. She told me she couldn’t guess the ending. That’s quite a compliment coming from someone who can see into the future.”

Becoming an author is a second career for LaCorte, or a re-career as she calls it. Her professional career--until landing a book deal--was as a human resources director for several universities including Rider University in New Jersey and Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

“I worked in HR while pursuing a master’s degree in English and an Ed.D in Higher and Adult Education Administration at Arizona State University and enjoyed a long and happy career in human resources. If there is a better field than HR to gather information for stories about human behavior, I don’t know what it is. People will do some amazing things and I’ll always be grateful for my time in the profession and have stored away memories to use in my writing for decades to come.”

Although many of LaCorte’s favorite books have other-worldly themes, it was the author’s husband whointroduced her to the psychic world. “This was back in 1971 when we first met. I always find this funny since my husband, by profession, is a CPA accountant. He’s a levelheaded, reality-based kind of a guy but he’s always had a fascination with the things we can’t know for sure–like aliens and psychics. We’ve gone to many readings and some have been phenomenal. Others have been, well, pure hooey. It was a visit with a particularly opportunistic psychic that had me considering writing the novel.”

LaCorte says she worked hard to get her manuscript perfect before approaching agents. Her tips for aspiring writers: read in the genre you wish to write and participate in a writing group where you get honest feedback. Among her favorite books are those by Jane Austin. “I wrote my Master’s Thesis about her so all her books are at the top of my list.”  Other favorites include those with mystical underpinnings, such as The Time Traveler’s Wife, Dogs of Babel and Like Water for Chocolate.

LaCorte (www.ellenlacorte.com) will be reading and signing copies of her new book THE PERFECT FRAUD at several Connecticut locations in July, including Fairfield, detailed below:

THURSDAY, JULY 11

FAIRFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY – 2:00 PM

1080 Old Post Road

Fairfield, CT 06824

(203) 256-3155

http://fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/