GiGi Gossett will discuss her latest novel, “The Midwife Factor,” at 7 p.m. Monday, April 6, at the West Wyandotte Branch Library at 1737 N. 82nd St., Kansas City, Kan.
According to a spokesman for the Kansas City, Kan., Public Library, Gossett, a native of Kansas City, Kan., also will sign copies of her book, which will be available for purchase.
“GiGi Gossett” is the pen name of Kansas City, Kan., native Gladys Gossett Hankins.
Hankins, an internationally recognized speaker and consultant on diversity and organizational effectiveness, spent the majority of her career as an executive with Procter and Gamble and currently is president of management consulting firm Telora Victor, Inc. She has presented workshops in nations around the world. A graduate of Sumner Academy and Rockhurst University, Hankins holds a doctorate in organizational behavior and development from Union Institute and University.
In “The Midwife Factor,“ 19-year-old Morgan Wellington, adopted as an infant by a prestigious American family, sets off to Budapest to find her mysterious lookalike and see if she can explain the flashes of another’s thoughts, feelings and dreams that she has sensed since childhood.
As Morgan travels from Cincinnati to Budapest to Romania, lively characters cross her path: Lynn Davis, a savvy private detective; Flossie Walker, an octogenarian African-American midwife who holds the truth of Morgan’s birth; and a sinister sociopath recently released from prison.
“The telepathic relationship has always fascinated me, as has the global role of midwives,” Gossett said. “It’s my fervent desire to expose readers to a variety of cultures and ethnicities side by side—much like our world today— and create a work of fiction that readers won’t be able to put down.” Gossett’s inspiration for the book came from twin sisters of hers who both succumbed to early deaths.
Gossett’s previous fiction titles include pre-teen novel “A Twisy Girls Mystery: The Case of the Dropped Pearl” and mystery title “By Any Other Name.” She is also the author of the business book “Diversity Blues, How to Shake ‘Em.”
She is a life member of the NAACP, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Queen City Chapter of The Links, Inc., and serves on the boards of The Union Institute and University, Hospice of Cincinnati, and the Christ Hospital Institutional Review Board. She also served on the Board of Trustees for the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and NAACP.
– Information from Kansas City, Kan., Public Library