The last, but definitely not least, speaker at the Key West Friends of the Library speaker series is the New York Times best-selling novel author, Meg Cabot. The prolific local author will speak on Monday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. Her talk will take place at the Key West Theater, 512 Eaton St. Admission is free and seating is available on a first come first served basis. Doors open at 5:30.

Before heading off to college and declaring a major, Meg Cabot met a stranger at a party who told her that if she loved writing she shouldn’t study creative writing, as it would suck the love of it out of her. She listened, majored in art, and while pursuing her degree had the love of art sucked out of her instead.

After working for ten years as an assistant residence hall director at New York University, she wrote the Princess Diaries series, which was made into two hit movies by Disney. While over twenty-five million copies of Meg’s nearly eighty published books have been sold in thirty-eight countries, She said she is most proud of the letters she’s received from fans thanking her for helping them to overcome their “dislike of reading.”

Cabot’s most recent work is Remembrance, a novel for adults. It is the seventh installment of the Mediator series, which follows the narrator Suze Simon, a woman who can see and speak to ghosts.

“I started the Mediator series shortly after my dad died,” she said. “I was in my mid-20s, and his death hit me really hard, even though he’d been sick with cancer for a long time. I’d heard it was common for people who’ve suffered the loss of a loved one to feel as if they’re being “haunted” by that person, but I kept seeing my dad in the oddest places — like at Knicks games. Or on TV shows! That’s what gave me the idea for Suze in the Mediator series, a girl who not only sees the dead ghost of her father, but those of all lost and wandering spirits. She helps them to their final destination.”

Years later, at a party in New York, she met the guy who told her not to major in creative writing. They are now married and live in Key West.

For more information, go to http://friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org