Keowee Valley at the Library

Happy Friday, all!

I’m writing this as my daughter watches “Super Why” on PBS Kids. School was cancelled (which means her preschool was cancelled, too) because supposedly we’re going to get a bunch of sleet and ice today–a dangerous wintry mix on mountain roads.

I’ve become disillusioned about winter weather in Western North Carolina, especially over the past couple of years. Since we moved to the mountains in 2005, we’ve had solid winters with great snow (and as a native South Carolinian, snow is magic to me). But the past couple of years–and, it looks like, this year too–have seen nothing but warm, creepy winters where flowers bloom in February. I’m convinced it’s why everyone’s getting the flu.

I’ve taken to posting photos of winters past on my Facebook page. Like a sad, virtual winter. I’m hoping this will shame Old Man Winter into appearing.

Alright, enough of that. Back to the topic at hand: my upcoming presentation of Keowee Valley!

Barring icy roads, I’m headed to Aiken, South Carolina tomorrow to give a presentation of Keowee Valley at the Aiken County Library. I’ll be talking about my background, the inspiration for the novel, and touching on the history and culture of the Cherokee and frontier settlers in those wild and dangerous years leading up to the opening of the American Revolution. I’m really looking forward to getting a look at the town of Aiken, a place I’ve never been that claims quite an interesting history. The library serves the counties of Aiken, Bamberg, Barnwell, and Edgefield, all of which are fairly steeped in Antebellum history.

I love doing library events!

First, being in a library feels like being home to me. When I was a kid, my mom took me to the library all the time, and I can still remember the tall stacks, the ramp up to the second level, the magic, not-quite-musty smell of books, and the promise of adventure to be had at the touch of my fingertips. And librarians have always had a special place in my heart: the librarian at the high school where my mother taught used to send Mom home with boxes of old books just for me.

Since I’ve been promoting and sharing Keowee Valley with readers and history-lovers, I’ve had a great time at libraries. The audience is always interested and friendly, unafraid to ask questions and curious about anything having to do with the novel–the characters, the history, the landscape. Granted, I’m comfortable in front of a crowd anyway, something I feel lucky about, as many writers aren’t. But library patrons make it easy.

So if you’re in the Aiken area, I hope you’ll stop by the Aiken County Library tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3:00 p.m.).

If not, I hope you have a warm and relaxing weekend before you!