Heartbreak Hill, Richard M. Senier's book about a 1970s fictional running of the Boston Marathon, will be released on Monday, April 19, Patriot's Day, when runners traditionally race the 26 miles from Hopkinton to downtown Boston. The author will autograph copies of his book at the Wheeler Memorial Library from 7:00 to 8:30 pm Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Mr. Senier is past chair of the Wheeler Memorial Library trustees.
Born in Boston and deeply conversant with the city's lore, Mr. Senier is uniquely suited to the telling of his story about the iconic race, according to the publisher, Haley's of Athol. The plot involves a priest's ethical dilemma in confronting a depraved murderer who plans to kill the front runner during the Boston Marathon, the publisher said.
Haley's produced the book using the new print-on-demand facilities of Lightning Source at Ingram, the foremost distributor of books in the United States. The book will soon also be available as an electronic book through Lightning Source. Theresa Whitehill of Colored Horse Studios, Ukiah, California, designed the cover. Jane Gagliardi and Mary-Ann DeVita Palmieri edited the book with Haley's.
Mr. Senier is the husband of Carolyn Brown Senier, a composer of choral music. Together, for some twenty years in the late twentieth century, they operated the well-known Celtic Weavers in Quincy Market, Boston. Both of them sing with Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, the resident chorus of New Salem's 1794 Meetinghouse. Heartbreak Hill will be available at bookstores throughout the North Quabbin region and Pioneer Valley and online at Amazon.com.
