For the avid reader looking to connect with an author, one only has to take a short walk along East Main Street to the Port Jefferson Public Library to participate in their Sunday afternoon Writer Series. The cozy library, with it's front window seats and tucked away reading nooks, is the idealistic and personable setting for local, esteemed authors to present their work to the audience who so eagerly seeks it. From poetry to mainstream thrillers, their program caters to a wide variety of tastes and interests.

Local author and Suffolk Community College professor Kenneth Wishnia recently presented the publication of his latest historical thriller, The Fifth Servant. The novel revolves around the discovery of a body belonging to that of a young Christian girl in a Jewish shop during 1592 German ruled Prague. Over the course of three days during Easter Week, the rabbi's new sexton, Benyamin Ben-Akiva races to find the real killer, before the entire Jewish population faces annihilation after being accused of stealing the girl's blood.

After reading the gripping opening chapter from his second novel, Mr. Wishnia answered questions that would normally have gone unanswered had his audience not been able to meet with him in person. When questioned about why he chose to use Prague to serve as the backdrop for his latest page-turner, Mr. Wishnia explained, "Prague was the largest Jewish community in Europe at the time. It was an oasis of religious tolerance."

Audience members spent the next two hours gaining a first hand account of how their guest speaker underwent three years of extensive research in order to make the novel maintain both historical accuracy and contemporary appeal. This was accomplished by using modern phrases that originated before or around the time of the novel's setting. Aside from spending time in Prague studying preserved documents and records, the Poe Award winning author turned to ancient maps and the Talmud.

"I'm fascinated by what people believe and the origins of those beliefs." Mr. Wishnia told the crowd when explaining why he chose to incorporate certain elements into his writing.

To immerse his readers in the story even more, Wishnia included a map of the old Jewish Ghetto and a full glossary of Yiddish, German and Czech terminology that appears throughout the four hundred-page manuscript.

Fourteen drafts and an additional three and a half years later, he has produced a mystery that keeps its' readers on the edge of their seat. Even as the crowd gathered around the front of the room to have their copies signed, you could overhear them praising both the novel and it's author for being entertaining and enlightening.

For additional information on the Writer's Series, visit http://portjefflibrary.org for a listing of all upcoming events and guest speakers.