Meet and Greet and Book Signing with Local Author Ralph E. Jarrells

West Columbia native author Ralph E. Jarrells will host a meet and greet and book signing at Palms to Palmettos on Thursday, November 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. Jarrells will highlight his newly released novel, Ill Gotten Gain. States Jarrells: "Ill Gotten Gain answers the question: What happened to the 30 pieces of silver given Judas for betraying Christ? It is a historically based, religiously oriented mystery that presents a plausible, if not believable, account of the movement of the suitable cursed coins from Jerusalem c:33 AD/CE to Charleston, South Carolina, current day in which everyone who has the coins dies.

“The story is a mystery with horrific touches because it chronicles the deaths of the coin holders—hanged, strangled, drowned in blood, choked of food, drowned while being eaten by sharks, and suffocated in a fire,” adds Jarrells. “The antique dealer dreams these deaths as through the eyes of the person dying. It isn't a horror story, but it does occasionally knock on the door of the macabre. It isn't a comedy, but there are some really funny sections. It isn't a foray into the world of voodoo, but it does dip its toe in the world of ‘roots’ and root doctors.”

Cost: Free to enter. Space limited; arrive early. Location: Palms to Palmettos, 3357 Leaphart Rd., W. Columbia. For more information, call 803-553-7010.