On Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. at Glendale Public Library Auditorium, writer and Glendale resident Denise Hamilton will be discussing her new novel, “Damage Control.”

The story weaves an engrossing story of teenage friendship and adult betrayal, featuring a high-powered young woman in the crisis management world who gets swept up in murder and scandal involving a wealthy political family.

The story surrounds a woman who had a best friend in high school she would have done anything for, but something awful happened on the beach one night and that friendship dissolved, almost ruining her life. Fifteen years later, she is hired by the powerful father of her old friend to defend him of a monstrous crime, plunging her back into the past and making her question everything she thought was true – everything she thought was safely buried.

Before launching her career as a mystery writer, Denise Hamilton was an award-winning journalist with the L.A. Times where she covered international events and local Los Angeles news. Hamilton brings her knowledge of the city to play in her bestselling Eve Diamond mystery series. She was the editor for “Los Angeles Noir,” the 2010 One Book/One Glendale title. Hamilton lives in Glendale with her family that all frequent the Glendale Public Library.

On Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. in the library auditorium, author Steven Ross will discuss his book, “Hollywood Left and Right – How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics.”

Ever since the film industry relocated to Hollywood early in the 20th century, it had a large influence on American politics. Ross tells a story that has escaped public attention – the emergence of Hollywood as a vital center of political life and the important role that movie stars have played in shaping the course of American politics. “Hollywood Left and Right” challenges and reveals how the film industry’s engagement in politics has been longer, deeper and more varied than most people would imagine.

Ross is a professor of history at the University of Southern California and co-director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities. “Hollywood Left and Right” received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Film Scholars Award. Ross was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his book, “Working-Class Hollywood: Silent Film and the Shaping of Class in America” (1998).