'Sex and the City' author to launch new book in Arlington Heights

Downtown Arlington Heights may not exactly be the streets of Manhattan, but a famous New York City author will stop in the suburbs this summer to launch her next book.

Candace Bushnell, author of "Sex and the City," which inspired the HBO series by the same name, will debut her newest novel, "Killing Monica," with a book launch event June 27 at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.

Tickets for the event, sponsored by the Tuscan Market Book Club, will go on sale at 1 p.m. Tuesday for $50, which will include a copy of the book to be autographed at the event, food, drinks and a Q-and-A session with Bushnell.

This is the first book launch party being thrown by Tuscan Market Book Club, which regularly holds discussions with authors after a book has been published. "Killing Monica" will hit bookshelves the week of the event, said club founder Debbie Smart.

The book is about a famous author who is sick of writing her popular series, so she decides to kill off the main character.

"The Tuscan Market is very big in the book community, it's the place to be seen," Smart said.

But having an author as popular as Bushnell in Arlington Heights is still a huge feat for the small book club.

"She's a social icon, this woman," Smart said. "It kind of takes my breath away.

Some proceeds from the event will go to the Friends of the Library organization.

"This event is different from all our other events. Since our library event is part of the national book launch for Candace's latest book, there is no pre-reading. Just come and have a great time at an after-hours author event," said Jennifer Czajka, programs supervisor at Arlington Heights Memorial Library.

This is the first of three large events Tuscan Market Book Club will be planning in Arlington Heights this year.

In September the group will host a conference with several New York Times Best Selling women authors. In November, the group will host an event called The Family Affair with best-selling author Lee Child, his brother and fellow novelist Andrew Grant, and Grant's wife and writer Tasha Alexander. Both events will take place at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, which will receive a share of the proceeds.

Tickets for the Candace Bushnell event can be bought at Tuscan Market, 141 W. Wing St., or by calling (847) 392-9700. Only 225 tickets are available.