Sparks Under a Northern Sky

“It’s been a magical week for film student Willow Ferguson — she cheered for her favorite hockey team, shot the B-roll needed for her class assignment, and, oh, might have met the love of her life. After seven perfect days exploring Vancouver together, she feels closer than she ever thought possible to the kind and imaginative Mason Hayes. But all too soon, she’s forced to face reality: he was only in town for his favorite musician’s final concert, and now he’s flying back to his home in Minnesota.

They’ve promised to send letters, a dreamy, romantic vision that’s about to crash right into the hidden troubles they haven’t yet been willing to share. In Canada, magic is a common part of technology, medicine, and daily life. In the U.S., though, magitech is seen as dangerous and outlawed for civilian use. For Mason, the ban isn’t just political — it’s personal. And for Willow, magic is tangled up in a loss she isn’t quite ready to discuss.

Caught between nations, convictions, and their own painful histories, Willow and Mason must decide whether their love can bridge the distance between what’s legal and what’s right.”

The Song of Svain:  In the dark and mist-covered wilderness of 9th-century Viking Age Norway, young Svain’s life is shattered by betrayal, violence, and exile. Once the privileged son of a respected Norse raider, he is cast from the safety of his village and forced into a harsh world where survival depends on courage, wisdom, and the strength to endure loss.

Alongside the red-haired Roslin, a former Irish slave torn from his homeland, and guided by the mysterious hermit Rögenvaldur, Svain begins a dangerous journey through forests, coastlines, and ancient lands shaped by hardship, pagan belief, and destiny. Together they must navigate grief, injustice, and the brutal realities of a violent age while forging an unlikely brotherhood.

The Song of Svain is a historical Viking saga rich in Norse mythology, wilderness survival, coming-of-age transformation, friendship, exile, and redemption. Set against a historically grounded early medieval world of raiders, hermits, harsh winters, and spiritual struggle, this emotionally powerful tale explores what it means to become a man when childhood ends in fire and loss.

The Saga of the Golden Trolls:  On the barren wastelands beyond the village lies a cave home to three massive and repulsive trolls: Golden-Belly, Golden-Rump, and Gold-Thief! In this short story placed in a time and place alongside the Song of Svain saga, the clever wise-woman Idunna has discovered these trolls lurking in the forest near her hermit friend. But how to be rid of them? Using her wit, magical powers, and the trolls' own weaknesses, Idunna devises the perfect trap to remove the troll threat once and for all.

Filled with Norse mythology and a dash of humor, The Saga of the Golden Trolls is the perfect companion to the Svain series and is sure to bring a smile to readers of all ages.

JD White is a professional writer published in both English and French. A graduate of the University of Wales, he has lived in Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, and Canada—experiences that helped shape his deep interest in European history, Nordic culture, and the stories that endure across generations.His writing blends historical realism with emotional depth, exploring survival, exile, brotherhood, faith, and redemption against richly atmospheric settings. He is the author of The Song of Svain series, a Viking Age historical saga inspired by Norse tradition, medieval landscapes, and the timeless journey from youth into manhood.

Based in the Upper Midwest, JD continues to write historically grounded fiction shaped by myth, memory, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Stop by Overbooked for Rebecca Yarros’ latest work Threshing Day releasing 9/29. Purchase it in-store Tuesday, September 29 and be entered to win a $20 gift card to Overbooked!

THIS LOVE STORY IS HOTTER THAN FICTION

When Emmy Miura falls asleep reading a newly purchased romance novel (after her visit to a sex psychic her sister swears by), the last thing she expects is to wake up in the protagonist's bed the next morning. Emmy doesn't want to disrupt Will Barrett's world – even if he is fictional. He is clearly content with his life in idyllic and not-actually-real Cobalt, Massachusetts. He has good friends, steady work as a nurse in the paediatric wing of the local hospital, and an adorable house he inherited from his grandfather.

Understandably, he doesn't take it well when she manages to convince him none of the things he knows and loves are real. While Will is reeling at the implications of Emmy's revelation, Emmy is frantic to get back to the real world. The problem is that she is, against all her best efforts, falling head over heels in love with Will.

Will has feelings for her, too – much to the chagrin of the woman who was supposed to be his love interest – and he is determined to go with Emmy when she finds a way out of the book. Neither Emmy nor Will know if they can make a real life together that's based on fiction, but together they are willing to try.

Melanie Rae is the author of Sitting in the Chair: When Something Didn’t Feel Right—How I Learned to Speak Up, a memoir and practical guide born from her experience advocating for her husband through a serious medical crisis. Before becoming a caregiver herself, she spent more than 20 years in healthcare leadership, including leading a Patient Advocacy Department.

The book is part memoir, part caregiver story, and part roadmap for finding your voice when someone you love needs you to speak up.

Join us at the shop at 5:00 on Saturday, September 19 to hear Melanie discuss her experience and read from her memoir.

“A funny book of kids sayings that I have heard from my 30 plus years as an elementary teacher. It is a humorous book for teachers, parents, or anyone who enjoys looking at life from the innocence of a child.”

“North Dakota attracts adventurers. From expansive landscapes to eccentric roadside attractions, there is always something to discover and explore. 100 Things to Do in North Dakota Before You Die ushers readers into distinctive destinations.

To start, dig for fossils in Pembina Gorge, straddle the Canadian border crossing the International Peace Garden, or hike clear across the US on the North Country National Scenic Trail. Sail the Missouri River like Lewis and Clark and Sakakawea, and follow Sitting Bull across the prairie. Descend deep into underground missile sites—then get a bird’s-eye view from the skyscraper Capitol Building. Scale badlands bluffs in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, hug the ridgelines along the Maah Daah Hey Trail, and retreat into the Little Missouri National Grassland (the largest in the country). Pull over for more record-holding events and attractions—the towering scrap-metal sculpture overlooking the Enchanted Highway is just the beginning.

Alicia Underlee Nelson explores artistic cities, historical sites, bustling farmsteads, and rugged Western enclaves, sharing insider tips and organized by season and traveler type.”

Alicia Underlee Nelson is the author of 100 Things to Do in Fargo Before You Die and North Dakota Beer: A Heady History. She coauthored Midwest Road Trip Adventures and Midwest State Park Adventures with colleagues and contributed to Lonely Planet’s Offbeat North America. She has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Food Network, Fodor’s Travel, Thomson Reuters, AAA Living, Matador Network, Midwest Living, Rent.com, Delta Sky Magazine, Beer Advocate, Trivago Magazine, Craftbeer.com, and numerous other publications. Her photos have appeared in many of these outlets, as well as in USA Today.

Join Nathan and Jasmine Rasmussen showcase their children’s book “Gobi and Ollie Save Ripple River” . Gobi the globe hears from Ollie about the mission at Ripple River. The river is full of trash and Ollie is having a hard time living in the river because of it. Together Gobi and Ollie recruit lots of helpers to clean the river up and make it liveable again. This book teaches kids that littering is not good for our planet or the animals living in it while also letting them learn that teamwork is such a strong way to help one another with difficult tasks! 

Kimberly Souba is a Fargo-based author, former educator, podcaster, and communications professional whose writing centers on faith, hope, healing, and helping young people find their voice. She is the author of several children’s books and the young adult novel Light Still Stands, as well as host of the Butterfly Girl Podcast. One hundred percent of the proceeds from her books benefit organizations that support children and families affected by abuse and trauma.

Presented by The Study and the Fargo Public Library:

When Brad Ryan Invited his 85-year old Grandma Joy on a trip to see her first mountain, he simply hoped to mend a relationship nearly a decade estranged. What began as a tentative step because an extraordinary cross-country journey to all 63 U.S. National Parks. Along the way — through bison traffic jams in Yellowstone, ancient redwoods in California, and Colorado’s sand dunes — they confronted long-held family wounds and found their way back to each other.

Join Brad and Grandma Joy for an unforgettable evening about love, forgiveness, and resilience.

Register at https://www.thestudynd.org/event-details/grandma-joy-and-me-featuring-author-brad-ryan-grandma-joy

Accidental Deaths

Glen Cromwell is living the American Dream, with a career taking him from his home town in the forests of northern Minnesota through college and law school. His job changes take him from city to city, and state to state, each move enhancing his resume and his personal fortune.

Unfortunately, he is less lucky in love, with each of his marriages ending tragically, each for a different reason. He resigns himself to a solitary life until he meets Wendy Donnelly. Captivated by her beauty and charm, they form a tenuous relationship, lived out via tennis, golf, and dancing at the country club where they are both members. However, Wendy’s wealthy husband Barry has her locked into an ironclad prenup agreement and she cannot divorce him. Therefore, she and Glen can only completely fulfill their relationship by one means: Barry’s death.

Glen knows that to have this one true love to himself, and to have the life partner he has always longed for, he has to take action, the question is how and when to make Wendy a widow.

This is Paul Bruce’s third novel following Trapper Tom in 2004 and Desperate Men in 2025.

Born and raised in western Minnesota, Trina L. Talma has been writing for much of her life, with a concentration on fantasy and speculative fiction. She serialized her first novel, later expanded into The Time of the Wolf, in her high school’s newspaper during her senior year. A mother of two and grandmother of one, she now lives in eastern North Dakota. To date, she has published ten novels and two short-story collections.

Her hobbies include crafting unique jewelry, watching squirrels, maintaining her Little Free Library, and seeking out brilliant new creative media in all forms (as well as revisiting old favorites). She can be found on Amazon, Goodreads and Ko-fi, or at her desk with a pen, a notebook, and at least one cat within reach. Her website is at trinaltalma.com.

Heather R. Talma started writing before she'd set foot in kindergarten. She published her first book as a young teenager, and has kept writing more ever since. Her middle-grade book Out of the Silver World takes place in her hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, and her children's books draw from both her own experiences and her dreams of life and the world. When she's not writing, she spends her days reading, sewing, and enjoying the turn of the seasons, as well as many cups of tea every day.

Links to all books and handmade bookish crafts are found here! https://ko-fi.com/hrtsmom/shop

The Overbooked Club Summer Event happens at the store August 18 at 6:30.

“How do I join the Overbooked Club?”

1. Read the summer pick East of Eden by John Steinbeck

2. Come to the end-of-book event August 18

3. That’s it

“What if I can’t make it or don’t want to read the summer book?”

1. That’s OK! We will have a fall, winter, and spring book selection.

2. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or the website for future selections.

Join us Downtown Fargo for the annual Lemonade Crawl! See the website for more details, maps, and registration information! https://www.downtownfargo.com/events/-2026-downtown-fargo-lemonade-crawl-

Daniel Wolfe and Julia J. Wolfe are a sibling author-and-illustrator duo. The Red Ball is their first published book. Their second book, Sofia’s Monster, was released in 2025!sed

Daniel states, “I live in Fargo, North Dakota with my wife and two kids (and cat). My children are my greatest joy and the spark behind my stories. Our days are filled with play, laughter, and, of course, books. It felt natural to write stories that would bring us even closer.

My debut, The Red Ball, is a reflection of my family's everyday moments, filled with love and laughter, as well as other human emotions that require processing and support. I aim to create books that invite children to snuggle up with a loved one and share a special reading experience.

As a former elementary educator and tutor, I'm passionate about fostering early literacy. The Red Ball uses sight words and simple sentences to support young readers' language development. My upcoming books, designed for preschool and early elementary students, build upon these skills with more complex language. In all my stories, I weave in opportunities for interaction, emphasizing essential social skills that children will use throughout their lives. in October 2025.

The Baby-Sitters Club books turn 40 this August!

• BYOB (bring your own book) or buy one at the shop (sold separately)

  • We will have graphic novels, reprints of the chapter books, and some original vintage books for purchase

• $5 = bedazzle supplies for one book and chances to win some BSC swag

• Popcorn and 80s tunes all night

• Email contact@overbookedstore.com to register or comment on our Instagram or Facebook page

Kyle E. Goodwin, a former U.S. Army Ranger, discovers his true identity as a mage after succumbing to a demonic possession while deployed to Iraq. A decade after a failed exorcism causes the demon to go dormant, Kyle’s past catches up with him when Lillian Eldonna offers him a life-changing opportunity. However, Lillian’s strange and unaccountable behavior provokes his darkest suspicions and leads him on a mission to uncover her true intentions.

As Kyle delves deeper into Lillian's true motivations, he uncovers a plot to reignite the war his parents once fought. Caught between the demon Asmodeus, who seeks to take control of his rare powers, and Lillian's dangerous ambitions, Kyle must confront his past and the secrets that have kept him on the run. With his soul and everything he loves at stake, Kyle must decide whether to flee or fight against the powerful forces conspiring against him.

About the Author:

Originally from the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, Timothy Sizemore is a former U.S. Army Airborne Infantryman and Iraq War veteran who wore many hats both inside and out of the military. After a decade-long break, he currently serves as a helicopter mechanic and can otherwise be found raising his two daughters with his wife at home

Upstate New York in the mid-19th century is a cauldron bubbling with the lure of fast fortunes, religious zealotry, and battles for civil liberties. This fervor centers on the Erie Canal, which successfully supports scores of villages brimming with opportunity. One such village, Fayetteville, shaped two future American leaders, people whose lives intersected with the Dakotas.

Michael Miller identifies with his two protagonists. Born in a small town in New Jersey, he played baseball, delivered the daily newspaper, and tramped through the woods as a child. Through small town life, he learned to respect people regardless of their backgrounds and appreciate the gifts each person brings to the world. After forty years as a professor of anatomy, he retired. Now he writes novels, volunteers locally, and enjoys being a grandfather. 

Dr. Melissa Mork has been a TEDxFargo and has written a survival guide to grief. She states, “It was written from my academic study - my masters thesis was on bereavement, and based on personal experience - I was orphaned in college, lost dear friends to suicide, and my husband died from lung cancer when our kids were young. The twist is that I am also a Certified Humor Professional and have found that humor helps our grief work by rebuilding a relationship with the ones who are gone. Hence the title: Laugh? Cry? Yes. A survival guide to grief.”

Katie Kelley Dorn has written a memoir Magnolias in Winter‍ . “How do you hold onto both heartbreak and hope when your sister is dying - and is a single mother to three young children? That was the question Katie Kelley Dorn found herself living, not just asking, when her beloved sister Ginny received a terminal cancer diagnosis. What followed were years of hospital rooms and holiday tables, of laughter and heartbreak, of caregiving and uncertainty — and ultimately, of becoming a mother overnight to Ginny's three young daughters while grieving the loss of her best friend.

Magnolias in Winter is the story of that journey. A memoir about grief, faith, sisterhood, adoption, and the extraordinary discovery that hope doesn't wait for the hard season to end — it shows up right in the middle of it.

A Message to Readers:

Thank you for choosing to read this memoir. I wasn't planning on writing a book about my travels - I had actually started a YouTube Channel instead. I thought it would be a lot more fun to watch the adventures I go on rather than write about them. As an example, recording/watching a museum visit is much more fun than reading about it.

My three main objectives were:

• Never see a snowbank ever again in my life, or have to live in sub-zero temps, or deal with black ice, or blizzards, or... You get the point.

• Live an adventurous life - something different from the first 54 years of my life.

• Sit in a lawn chair and watch lizards jump on and off rocks in the desert.

The above three points are what my first 54 years of life had boiled down to: No icy winters or cold temps, adventure, lizards on rocks, and a lawn chair for comfort.

Simple and stupid, and it worked for me.

Well, what is that phrase about making plans and the universe laughs? Mmhmm...

I met a man.

I knew I'd most likely meet new people during my travels, but meeting a romantic interest wasn't on that carefully crafted BINGO Card.

Throughout this book, you'll read all about him, how we met, our time spent together and apart, and our serendipitous reunion, as well as my thoughts on the biggest adventure to date that I have experienced.

Anyway, I had started journaling my experiences with him after his death. Yes, you read that correctly - after his death, and experiences with him. My goal was to keep these notes for myself so I wouldn't forget any of them. My end-all was to never publish a book. However, he had different plans. Again, you read that correctly. This book is Fred's idea - and you read that correctly, too.

It is my hope that these insights help you in understanding how extraordinary these events have been. You now have in your hands the story of a love so profound it defies logical explanation and a connection so deep it spans lifetimes. Regardless of what you believe to be true about the human soul, you owe it to yourself to open your mind and experience what true love really is.

" A TV horror host broadcasts mysterious messages. Ghosts may be wandering the streets of a college town and hanging out at the corner bar. A student struggles to pay her rent. Welcome to the world of Dr. Bleak's Castle of Freaks." 

Due to the Downtown Street Fair Thursday-Saturday July 16-18, the Red River Market will have a special SUNDAY MARKET on July 19. Overbooked will be open during the market as always!