SARATOGA SPRINGS — “FOR THE LAST TIME,” my client says to me. “I. Did. Not. Kill. Those. People.”

So begins the new 386-page novel “12 Months To Live” by James Patterson and Mike Lupica, set for publication on Sept. 25 via Little, Brown and Company.   

Northshire Bookstore will host an afternoon with the bestselling author duo at the Saratoga Springs City Center at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24. They will discuss the book and their work with Joe Donahue of WAMC / Northeast Public Radio.

“12 Months To Live” follows criminal attorney Jane Smith, a tough as nails ex-NYPD beat cop, who has received a terminal diagnosis and doesn’t have much time. The burning question: Is her own client trying to kill her first?

James Patterson is among the world’s bestselling authors. Among his creations are Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, and Maximum Ride. He has collaborated on novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton and has won an Edgar Award, nine Emmy Awards, and the National Humanities Medal.

Mike Lupica has covered the world of sports for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and Esquire, and has written 17 New York Times bestsellers. 

Single tickets for the event with the authors at the City Center are $40.98 (one general admission ticket and a hardcover copy of the book), and $56.73 (two admission tickets and one copy of the book).  

The details: Copies of “12 Months to Live” purchased as part of your ticket package will be pre-signed by the authors and given to you when you arrive at the event. There will NOT be a post-event signing line. If possible, there will be additional autographed books available for purchase at the event.

For more information, go to: northshire.com. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Northshire Bookstore this week celebrates 10 years in its Saratoga Springs location, at 424 Broadway. 

Northshire Bookstore was founded by Ed and Barbara Morrow on Main Street in Manchester Center, Vermont in September 1976. The Saratoga Springs location opened in August 2013. Both Northshire Bookstore locations are now owned and operated by sisters Cathleen Ihasz, Nicole Ihasz and Ashley Ihasz-Austin.

“Saratoga Springs understood the value of a downtown bookstore and effectively lobbied, invested and supported us, later pouring into the aisles with friends and family in celebration of their new bookstore,” says Nancy Scheemaker, general manager of the Saratoga store. “We are of course deeply grateful for this passion and vision. We are grateful also for a decade of support that we could only have dreamed of prior to experiencing the real thing.”

Over the last decade, Northshire has presented more than a 1,000 author events in Saratoga Springs, hosted children’s programming and brought authors into area schools, partnered with local not-for-profits, and has worked with our customers to provide free children’s books to area children via our Book Angels program. 

For more information about the store and events, visit www.northshire.com, or call 518-682-4200.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Academy of American Poets announced this week it is awarding a combined total of $1.1 million to its 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows. 

Joseph Bruchac, earlier this year selected as the first Poet Laureate of Saratoga Springs, is among the 23 recipients across the nation chosen to receive $50,000 each to lead public poetry programs in their respective communities in 2023–24.

Bruchac will work with students at Saratoga Springs schools to create a poetry anthology that draws on Indigenous history, connecting them with Native students at the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation and the Onondaga Nation School. He will also arrange visits to Saratoga Springs and reservation schools by contemporary Native poets, provide poetry books to students, and bring together Native and non-Native students to read at Saratoga Arts. 

Bruchac has authored more than 186 books in several genres and is a member of the Nulhegan Abenaki Nation Elders Council. He is the founder of the Greenfield Review Press, a pioneering publisher of Native American and African writers and bilingual (English/Abenaki) books. 

“The Academy of American Poets celebrates the unique position poets laureate occupy at state and local levels, elevating the possibilities poetry can bring to community conversations and reminding us that our national spirit can be nourished by the power of the written and spoken word,” said Ricardo Maldonado, president and executive director of the Academy, in a statement. “We are inspired by these projects—which include intergenerational workshops, city- and statewide festivals, community-generated publications, and more—that the 23 Fellows will carry out, and grateful to the Mellon Foundation and the nonprofit organizations supporting this life-affirming work.”

Through its Poet Laureate Fellowship program, the Academy of American Poets — a leading financial supporter of poets in the United States — has awarded a total of $5.45 million in fellowships to one hundred and four poets’ laureate since 2019, plus more than $360,000 in matching grants to secure project support from forty-seven local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. 

ALBANY — Squeeze kick off their Fall North American Tour with the Psychedelic Furs Thursday, Sept. 7 at The Egg. The tour continues with an appearance at Radio City Music Hall the next night.  

The band – then known as U.K. Squeeze – made their first indentation upon the music scene in the spring of 1978, with the release of their debut album (on red vinyl) and a string of weekend shows at CBGB’s, immediately following a similar three-day engagement at the Bowery Club by the B-52’s – themselves riding the buzz of their small label debut single “Rock Lobster.”  

Squeeze debut L.P. featured “Take Me I’m Yours,” and was followed by a cadre of U.K. hits, including “Cool for Cats,” “Up the Junction,” “Pulling Mussels From A Shell,” “Black Coffee in Bed,” and “Labeled With Love,” and made an indelible mark on the U.S. in the early 1980’s with the release of their classic hits, “Tempted,” “Hourglass,” and “853-5937” (from East Side Story.) 

Squeeze disbanded in 1999, then reunited in 2007. In addition to Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, Squeeze currently features keyboardist Stephen Large and drummer Simon Hanson (since 2007), percussionist/backing vocalist Steve Smith (since 2017) along with pedal/lap steel guitarist Melvin Duffy (since 2019) and Owen Biddle, former bassist for The Roots, (who joined in 2020.)

The Psychedelic Furs, led by vocalist and songwriter Richard Butler and his bass-wielding brother Tim, quickly developed as one of the premiere bands at college and alternative radio, scoring hits with “Love My Way,” “Pretty In Pink,” “Heaven,” “The Ghost In You,” and “Heartbreak Beat.” In total, the Furs have released eight studio albums, spawning several compilations, a boxed set, a live concert DVD, and inspiring one of the most iconic motion picture soundtracks of all time. 

Ticket info, go to: theegg.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Described as the greatest front-porch blues band in the world, Rev. Peyton & his Big Damn Band are slated to deliver their boot-stompin’ bluesy American roots atop the stage at Caffe Lena Sunday, Aug. 13. 

Led by premier finger-picker Reverend Peyton, the band’s latest record, “Dance Songs For Hard Times” landed atop the Billboard, iTunes and Sirius XM Blues Charts and was produced by Grammy winner Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton). 

Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets may be gotten at: caffelena.org. 

ROCK CITY FALLS –Juilliard trained singer, songwriter, actress and recording artist Morgan James performs 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10 at The Mansion of Saratoga.

James is currently on tour supporting her fifth studio album, “Nobody’s Fool.”  

In addition to her original music, James co-produced and starred in an all-female concept recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and has taken on full album covers of the Beatles’ iconic “White Album,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” and Jeff Buckley’s “Grace,” among others. 

On Broadway, she was in five back-to-back original companies: The Addams Family (starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth), Wonderland, Godspell and Motown: The Musical, and as a guest at Kristin Chenoweth’s For The Girls.  

The Mansion of Saratoga, which features a dinner and a show as part of its 801 Convert Series, is located at 801 Route 29, Rock City Falls. Go to: www.themansionsaratoga.com/concert-series-line-up. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs is kicking off summer with some brand-new shows on sale coming to the Great Hall in fall 2023. 

The Tony Award-winning “Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation,” Gerard Alessandrini’s musical spoof of Broadway’s biggest shows and brightest stars, will make a stop at Universal Preservation Hall 7:30 pm. Thursday, Oct. 5. Up-to-the-minute spoofs include comic looks at “Moulin Rouge,” the all-Yiddish “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Hadestown,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Beetlejuice,” “Frozen” and more! 

Chris Funk’s “Redefining Wonder” – a magic show with live music, will be at UPH 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. 

“Back To The Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl” – a tribute to the music of the ‘80s will be at the Great Hall 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 21. 

Brooklyn Rider with Anne Sofie Von Otter will perform in the Great Hall 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9. Anne Sofie Von Otter, a multi-award-winning mezzo-soprano, has seen her work with legendary artists ranging from the late greats of Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado and Giuseppe Sinopoli to Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. 

“Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience” is at UPH 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. Through requests and memories, “Yesterday and Today” tells the audience’s story using the Beatles catalog. The band, anchored by brothers Billy, Matthew and Ryan McGuigan perform as themselves and the set list is created based on the audience filling out postcards with their favorite songs by The Beatles as the show happens. 

Tickets are available through the box office at Proctors, via phone at 518-346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online at universalpreservationhall.org. Groups of 10 or more can get their tickets by calling 518-382-3884 ext. 139.