The College of Southern Maryland’s Fall Connections series will showcase novelist Lydia Netzer beginning at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 10, at the La Plata Campus, Center for Business and Industry, Room BI-103, Dr. John M. Sine Conference Room, 8730 Mitchell Road, La Plata.

Netzer’s latest work, “How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky,”
follows the lives of cosmologist George Dermont and scientist Irene
Sparks. They have everything in common, but their attraction was not
fate. In fact, their mothers raised them separately to become each
other’s soulmates. Netzer’s third novel is described as a
mind-bending, heart-shattering love story that explores the conflicts of
fate and determinism and asks how much of life is under our control and
what is pre-ordained.

A Detroit native, Netzer is the author of two published novels. Her
debut novel, “Shine, Shine, Shine,” is a New York Times Notable Book
and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She lives in
Norfolk, Virginia with her husband and two children.

The Connections series offers the Southern Maryland community a chance
to hear from and meet established and local writers personally.
“It’s a great experience for our students to come in contact
with an author they otherwise wouldn’t have met,” said CSM Professor
Neal Dwyer, who coordinates the literary series. “When students meet
writers during the author roundtables and public readings, they realize
that literature is not something they should be intimidated by.”

In addition to the Connections readings, the Connections magazine is a
regional literary journal published twice a year that features poems,
stories, artwork and photography of Southern Maryland. Included in each
issue is featured material from visiting writers. Publication readings
take place in December and May each year. To be considered for fall
2014’s issue, the deadline for submission is Oct. 31.

Tickets for the Connections reading are $3 through advance sale at the
CSM box office and $3 at the door with a student ID. General admission
at the door is $5. For tickets, contact the box office at
bxoffc@csmd.edu or call 301-934-7828. For information on Connections,
study guides and author links visit www.csmd.edu/connections. Featured
books are available at any CSM College Store or online at
www.csmd.edu/CollegeStore.