Authors of two reading group favorites will visit the Milwaukee area this week, giving readers a peek into the imaginative and haunting worlds they have created in their recent novels. Audrey Niffenegger, a Chicago writer and visual artist, visits Mequon for the paperback...

First Job: "In the popcorn wagon at my uncle's travel- ing carnival." Boards: All God's Children (educational grants). Inspiration: "I went to 'Lawrence of Arabia' in 1963 and thought, 'The world is bigger and more interesting than what I see here in Lombard,...