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<p>WILKES-BARRE TWP. &#8211; The toy section of a book store may not seem like the most appropriate place to discuss a book about a serial killer.</p><p>But then again, California Wine Country might not be the first setting that comes to mind for a story about that killer.</p><p>So perhaps it was appropriate that Steve Corbett on Saturday afternoon stood in front of a display of Hatchimals, talking about his debut novel, &#8220;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller.&#8221;</p><p>Corbett, a longtime journalist in Northeastern Pennsylvania and California, was hosting a reading and a discussion of his book as part of the grand reopening celebration of Barnes &amp; Noble in Arena Hub Plaza. The store had been closed since it was damaged by a tornado last summer.</p><p>&#8220;Blood Red Syrah&#8221; tells the story of Wally Wilson, a killer Corbett says you will love.</p><p>&#8220;Poor Wally is a serial killer. Wally kills hard, regularly and with reckless abandon in Wine Country,&#8221; Corbett told the group gathered at the back of the remodeled store. &#8220;Wally is a character that I would like to believe you would like. Wally is a lovable guy. Wally doesn&#8217;t want to hurt anyone. Wally doesn&#8217;t want to kill anybody.</p><p>&#8220;But Wally is sick. Wally really needs help.&#8221;</p><p>While Wally is central to the story the novel tells, Corbett said there is a lot more to the book than just his story. Drawing on his experience as a print and radio journalist, including 17 years at the Times Leader, Corbett touches on many issues that affect residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;We were in California for about five years, and during that time all kinds of issues arose,&#8221; Corbett said. &#8220;I saw the same issues that I wrote about (in Northeastern Pa.).</p><p>&#8220;Political dysfunction was there. Domestic violence was there. Returning combat veterans with PTSD were there. Opioid abuse was there. Suicide among young people was there. Violence in terms of homicide &#8230; gangs &#8230;&#8221;</p><p>Corbett also draws on his short time working in a California boutique winery, relating two incidents in the book that happened to Wally actually happened to Corbett.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of what is in this book I made up, like any good fiction writer does,&#8221; Corbett said. &#8220;But all good fiction comes from reality, so you will find parts of this book that if I were to take a lie-detector test and somebody were to say to me &#8216;Corbett, did that actually happen?&#8217; I would have to say yeah.&#8221;</p><p>While Corbett said he is not very kind to either the newspaper industry or wine industry in the book, he believes there is something in it for everyone.</p><p>&#8220;I bet every reader finds something to relate to in this book,&#8221; he said, &#8220;whether it&#8217;s something about themselves, something about their family or something about the people they work with, the people they work for or the politicians that rule their lives.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s something in this book for everybody.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Blood Red Syrah,&#8221; which was released in October, is available at Barnes &amp; Noble and Amazon.com.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Author and journalist Steve Corbett explains his new book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller,&#8217; in Barnes &amp; Noble in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020319SteveCorbett3-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Author and journalist Steve Corbett explains his new book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller,&#8217; in Barnes &amp; Noble in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020319SteveCorbett2-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Author Steve Corbett interacts with people who came to hear him read excerpts from his recently published book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller,&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Noble in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. The event was part of the store&#8217;s grand reopening celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020319SteveCorbett2-1.jpeg</photo1><caption1>Author Steve Corbett interacts with people who came to hear him read excerpts from his recently published book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller,&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Noble in Wilkes-Barre Township on Saturday. The event was part of the store&#8217;s grand reopening celebration. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020319SteveCorbett1-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Author Steve Corbett reads from his book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Noble on Saturday as part of the store&#8217;s grand reopening celebration. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_TTL020319SteveCorbett1-1.jpeg</photo2><caption2>Author Steve Corbett reads from his book, &#8216;Blood Red Syrah: A Gruesome California Wine Country Thriller&#8217; at the Barnes &amp; Noble on Saturday as part of the store&#8217;s grand reopening celebration. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Soprano</p><p>jsoprano@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Soprano at 570-991-6393 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Author, journalist Corbett discusses debut novel at Barnes & Noble