Author Charles Shields spent four years researching and writing Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. For Mockingbird he interviewed over 600 of Harper Lee’s neighbors, childhood friends, law school classmates, and Kansas residents who became her friends while she was helping Truman Capote research In Cold Blood in Kansas.

Meet Charles Shields on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, at 12:00 noon at BGSU Firelands in the Cedar Point Center, One University Drive, Huron. He will also be speaking that evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Bellevue Society for the Arts, 205 Maple Street, Bellevue. **Please note: Registration is NOT required.**

His presentation, “Harper Lee: A Literary Mystery,” covers why he chose to write about Miss Lee, the surprises he encountered along the way, including her efforts to discourage friends from speaking to him, the parallels between her book and her life, and the reasons why she never published a second book. A question and answer period will follow his presentation.