The event begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
The book is based in part on the real life story of a quirky adventurer and scientist named R.L. Garner who studied gorillas and monkeys and claimed to be able to speak to them. Much of his work is still part of the Smithsonian collection.
Gilmore said he first encountered Garner’s work when he was studying anthropology and doing field work in Africa and the Caribbean. Garner lived from 1948 to 1920, but part of his life held an odd biographical gap for which there was no explanation.
The central conflict in the novel begins when Garner boards a train in Lynchburg, Va. and is soon asked by a young woman for help.
This is Gilmore’s second novel published in a year’s time. He also published a collection of short stories called “Scenes from a Bookshop.” He’s also published several short works through Amazon’s Kindle store.
Friday’s event is at the beginning of what Gilmore hopes will be a lengthy and productive promotional period for the book.
The novel has just finally compelled him to join Facebook.
Asked about future plans, Gilmore said he’s got a lot more work to do. He’s working on a novel based on a bullfighter from the musical “Carmen” and another novel that takes place in a bookshop, all while he still operates his own bookselling business from home.
The novel is already available on Amazon, and Gilmore will have print copies of the work at this Friday’s book launch at Musehouse.