Bestseller will visit Jay County

Michael Koryta is a New York Times bestseller.

His work has been praised by Stephen King.

One of his novels is in production for a movie starring Angelina Jolie and Tyler Perry.

On Thursday evening, he’ll be in Jay County.

Koryta will share a meal with some area bibliophiles at Jay County Public Library and then speak about his most recent book — “If She Wakes” — and his experiences as a writer during a presentation at Arts Place.

“We are very excited to be doing this,” said JCPL director Eric Hinderliter. “It’s something we’re definitely proud of. Usually the bigger name authors end up at bigger libraries. I think it’s significant to have a writer of his stature coming here.”

The last big-name author to visit the local library was Tess Gerritsen — her series of books inspired the TNT TV series “Rizzoli & Isles” — in 2013.

“I knew that was very well received, so I thought maybe it’s time we tried this again,” added Hinderliter.

“Tonight I Said Goodbye,” his first novel and the opening of the Lincoln Perry private investigator series, was accepted for publication when he was 20. It was later nominated for the Edgar Award.

He has gone on to write 14 books, including four in the Perry series, three supernatural novels and stand-alone crime novels, including his most recent book that will be the subject of discussion Thursday.

“If She Wakes” tells the story of Tara Beckley, a college senior trapped in locked-in syndrome — she’s fully alert but unable to move — and Abby Kaplan, an insurance investigator assigned to her case. Both women are left “fighting for their lives against an enigmatic killer.”

Though “If She Wakes” is set in Maine, it was his connection to Indiana — he was raised in Bloomington, where he still lives part-time — that drew interest from the local library.

“We just kind of got drawn to Koryta based on his Indiana roots,” said Hinderliter. “A large part of his focus is going to be about ‘If She Wakes,’ but he’s also going to be talking in general about the writing process, talking about his Indiana roots and the experiences that have shaped who he is as a writer.”

Koryta graduated from Indiana University with a degree in criminal justice. He worked as a private investigator and reporter prior to turning to writing full-time, and also taught at the IU School of Journalism.

Several of his novels are set in southern Indiana.

In preparation for Koryta’s visit, which has been booked for more than a year, the library purchased 200 copies of “If She Wakes” and distributed them free to patrons. They lasted nine days.

And there were several opportunities for group discussions about the book at the library.

“One of my objectives of this was to give our community and patrons a chance to be around someone of Koryta’s stature. So far it’s been really well received, and it’s given us motivation to maybe try to do this again a couple years down the road.”