Suzanne Allain will be in conversation with singer Michelle Johnson in the Parkview event space (Midtown Reader stage) at Cascades Park as part of the Word of South festival. Suzanne and Michelle will be discussing writing, historical research, books and movies and Michelle will perform. Suzanne will also be signing books.

Suzanne Allain is a novelist and screenwriter who lived in New York before returning to her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, where she lives with her husband. Suzanne adapted her novel Mr. Malcolm’s List into a screenplay and it was made into a movie starring Freida Pinto and Theo James. One critic wrote: “Mr. Malcolm’s List is a delightful blend of modern romantic comedy and Jane Austen-esque nostalgia.” Allain’s most recent novel, The Ladies Rewrite the Rules, is a historical romantic comedy that was inspired by an actual “Batchelor’s Directory” of rich single women published in the 18th century. www.suzanneallain.com

Michelle Johnson was born in Tallahassee, raised in Tampa, and graduated from Florida A&M University. She currently works as an elementary school teacher in Tampa and previously taught in China for four years, where she also wrote and directed plays for elementary and middle school students. She’s been singing since childhood and loves old jazz standards, musicals, neo-soul, and Disney Princess solos.