A Recap of An Evening with Wendy Walker: Blade
The Chicago Literary Salon — February 3, 2026
Some evenings feel like exactly what they are: an antidote.
We gathered for the fourth chapter of the Chicago Literary Salon on a cold February night, and the room immediately softened—warm light, clinking glasses, and the kind of low, happy hum that only happens when everyone is ready to talk (not just scroll). Guests were welcomed with our signature cocktail for the evening, the Triple Axel, featuring Inspiro Tequila—bright, crisp, and celebratory in the way a welcome drink should be: an opening line that sets the tone for the whole story.
Then came the hors d’oeuvres from Nic + Juniors, passed and plated like little conversation-starters—those first bites that make strangers feel like tablemates. (And in a room this intimate, everyone becomes a tablemate quickly.)
A conversation about ambition, trauma, resilience—and the cost of chasing perfection
Our in-conversation guest, Layne Fargo, guided the night with her signature mix of sharp insight and warmth. Together, Layne and Wendy Walker spoke candidly about the pressures that shape us—on the page, on the ice, and in the invisible emotional worlds we carry long after the spotlight moves on.
Early in the conversation, Wendy shared a story that made the room go still: a close friend’s sudden, devastating heart attack—one doctors described as stress-related. It landed not as a detour, but as a thesis statement for the entire evening.
“How much stress I’m allowing into my life… at any given moment.” —Wendy Walker
And Layne, with the kind of truth that feels both personal and universal, added:
“I feel like we’re all just… marinating in it right now.” —Layne Fargo
From there, Wendy opened the door to what inspired Blade—and why it took her so long to write it. She spoke about leaving home as a child to train in Colorado Springs, living in a dorm, and being the youngest skater there without parents year-round.
“It was… a lamb to the slaughter.” —Wendy Walker
The Salon is intentionally small, and moments like that are why: you could feel the entire room listening together—shoulders angled in, eyes lifted, the collective sense of we’re in this with you.
“Write from the scar, not the wound.”
Layne offered a line that felt like it belonged on a card tucked into every writer’s notebook (and honestly, every human’s).
“You want to write from the scar, not the wound.” —Layne Fargo
Wendy agreed—sharing how Blade demanded not just craft, but emotional distance. She talked about building a fictional story around the emotional truths that stayed with her: childhood trauma, power dynamics, and the brutal systems that shape young people.
When skating and publishing start to rhyme
One of the most electric through-lines of the night was how closely Wendy connected her skating life to her writing life—especially the competition, the judgment, the feeling of being evaluated in public.
“You’re only as good as your last book.” —Wendy Walker
And then, with humor that made everyone laugh because it was so real, she described the panic that can flare up when you see someone else hit a milestone you’re still reaching for:
“[It sometimes feels as if] there’s only one piece of pie… and I need pie, like I’m gonna die without my piece of pie.” —Wendy Walker
Layne reframed it in a way that felt both generous and practical—ambition without shame:
“Jealousy… is showing me what I want. It’s like a compass pointing where I want to go.” —Layne Fargo
By the time they got to community—how competitors can also become your people—the room felt lighter. Not because the topics were easy, but because the conversation was honest.
“It’s not zero-sum. There isn’t just one podium.” —Wendy Walker
Joy belongs in the story, too
One of my favorite moments came when Layne talked about drafting The Favorites during COVID—trying to make it darker, sharper, more twisted… until she realized the truth of the sport she loves.
“It has to be joyful… It has to have a happy ending.” —Layne Fargo
And then the line that might be the most Salon-esque of the entire night—about why we keep showing up to the hard things:
“You wouldn’t do it if you didn’t really love it—because it’s too hard to do if you don’t love it.” —Layne Fargo
Books on-site, face time at the table, and a signing that felt personal
Throughout the evening, Three Avenues Bookshop was on site selling copies of The Favorites—and also extra copies of Wendy’s Blade, so guests could leave with more than one story tucked under an arm.
And because the Salon is capped and intentionally intimate, the best parts happened between the formal moments: the side conversations over dinner and drinks, the questions that bubbled up once people felt safe asking them, the kind of easy face time with both authors that just doesn’t happen in a crowded auditorium.
We closed the night the way we always hope to: with connection made tangible. Guests ended the evening with a personalized book signing, one by one—brief conversations, names written carefully, a few lingering words exchanged that will live inside the book long after the last page is turned.
If the Chicago Literary Salon is, at its heart, an evening where story becomes community—this one delivered that promise in full: candlelight, cocktails, an unforgettable conversation, and the reminder that ambition and tenderness can exist in the same sentence.
Until the next chapter.
February 3, 2026 @ 6pm
Step inside the icy halls of elite figure skating with internationally bestselling author Wendy Walker, as she joins us for an electrifying evening of suspense, ambition, and unflinching truth at the Chicago Literary Salon—in conversation with acclaimed thriller author Layne Fargo.
In her razor-sharp new psychological thriller, Blade, Walker exposes the dark undercurrent running beneath the glittering world of competitive skating. Once an Olympic hopeful, Ana Robbins left the sport behind after a devastating tragedy—but when her former coach is found murdered, she’s pulled back to The Palace, the secluded Colorado training compound where her dreams—and childhood innocence—were shattered.
Now a fierce and sought-after defense attorney, Ana returns to defend the teenage skater accused of the crime. But as she races to uncover the truth, long-buried memories resurface, a blizzard closes in, and The Palace reveals itself as a place where ambition thrives, secrets fester, and fear is a constant companion.
Blade is a taut, atmospheric story about reclaimed power, dangerous loyalties, and the shadows we carry from the past—and what happens when someone forces them into the light.
Your evening includes:
A signed hardcover copy of Blade
A thoughtfully curated menu by Nic + Juniors, featuring:
A welcome cocktail
Heavy hors d’oeuvres
A riveting conversation with Wendy Walker & Layne Fargo exploring the imprint of early experiences, the pursuit of excellence, and the resilience we find in connection
Printed conversation prompts designed to foster meaningful dialogue—no prior reading required
Whether you’re drawn to propulsive psychological thrillers, nuanced explorations of power and trauma, or simply crave an unforgettable night out, this salon will keep you thinking long after the final page is turned.
Seating is extremely limited. Reserve your seat today.
About Blade:
From USA Today bestselling author―and former competitive skater―Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.
Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making―until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly ended: The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.
Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime―Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.
But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth―even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.
About Wendy Walker:
Wendy Walker is the bestselling author of All is Not Forgotten, Emma In the Night, The Night Before, Don’t Look for Me, What Remains and the Audible Original works Hold Your Breath, American Girl, Mad Love. And The Room Next Door. She has sold rights to her work in twenty-three languages as well as film and television options. Her work has been featured in the Reese Witherspoon Book Club, Emma Roberts’ Belletrist, The Today Show, and Good Morning America.
Wendy started writing while taking time off from her legal career to care for her young children. Living in suburban Connecticut for most of her life, she developed a fascination with the culture and social dynamics of this area, and explored these themes in her first two general fiction novels, Four Wives (St. Martin’s Press 2008) and Social Lives (St. Martin’s Press 2009). She also edited three compilations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Stay-at-Home Moms, Thanks Mom and Thanks Dad. She began writing psychological suspense with her breakout bestseller, All Is Not Forgotten.
Prior to her writing career, Wendy practiced both corporate and family law, having earned her J. D. from Georgetown University Law Center (magna cum laude) and her undergraduate degree from Brown University (magna cum laude). She spent her junior year of college at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Wendy worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, and is a certified guardian ad litem for children in the State of Connecticut. In between her time as a corporate litigator and family attorney, Wendy volunteered as an attorney at the ACLU in New York and at Connecticut Legal Services.
As a young girl and teenager, Wendy trained for competitive figure skating, including three years with Olympic coach Carlo Fassi at the Broadmoor training facility in Colorado Springs. Wendy continued her involvement in the world of figure skating by serving on the Board of Directors of Figure Skating in Harlem for over twelve years, and was the organization’s founding Chairwoman.
Prior to writing full-time, Wendy pivoted among diverse career paths to pursue her dreams for both work and family life. Her writing draws from these diverse experiences, as well as her deep knowledge of suburban culture. Wendy’s novels examine the darker side of human nature and the psychological disorders that hide beneath the surface.
Wendy is the mother of three sons and lives in Fairfield County, CT.