Michael N. McGregor in conversation with Gene Openshaw- The Last Grand Tour

Join Village Books and best-selling author Gene Openshaw in the Readings Gallery to celebrate Seattle-based author Michael N. McGregor’s debut novel, The Last Grand Tour!

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Joe Newhouse has guided Americans through the mythic lands of western Europe. Now, with his marriage failing, he faces one last trip to Venice with a surly group and a beautiful woman who turn his final tour into a web of conflict, secrets, and kindled desire.

In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews calls The Last Grand Tour “A captivating exploration of the promise and burden of passionate love.” Award-winning author Pete Duval says, “Brutally honest, masterfully crafted, The Last Grand Tour is one hell of a read.”

Michael N. McGregor spent over a decade guiding Americans through Europe, both with Rick Steves and with his own company, Halcyon Tours. One of the many people he met in his travels was the poet Robert Lax, who became the subject of his first book, Pure Act. Pure Act was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award and named one of the top 10 books in American Studies for libraries by the Association of University Presses.

A former professor of creative writing, McGregor has published stories and essays in a wide variety of journals and magazines, including Tin House, Orion, StoryQuarterly, Poets & Writers, and Image. He lives in Seattle, where he hosts the Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation series and runs the website WritingtheNorthwest.com. You’ll find more about him and his writing at: michaelnmcgregor.com.

Gene Openshaw is the best-selling author of numerous travel books and PBS TV shows with travel guru Rick Steves. Their latest book, Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces, highlights classic works of art. Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler is still going strong after three decades. Their guidebooks–to Paris, Rome, London, and more–are some of the best-selling guides in the English language. Gene and Rick’s 1978 adventures “On the Hippie Trail” are chronicled in Rick’s recently published journal of the trip.

For television, Gene has co-authored the popular PBS documentaries The Story of Fascism and the ambitious multi-part series Art of Europe. Interviews with Gene can often be heard on NPR radio. As a composer, Gene has written an opera called Matter.

Gene’s latest book, Michelangelo at Midlife, takes the reader from Florence to Paris to Rome in search of Michelangelo’s most notorious masterpiece. Kirkus Reviews calls it “a delightful combination of art history and light drama… told with intelligence… conveyed with impressive emotional poignancy… an entertaining treat.”For more on Gene, see geneopenshaw.com