Photos from Book Events & Other News

Hi, all. Happy Thursday.

During football season, which always makes me think of being back in college as an undergrad, I can’t help but remember that Thursdays were huge social nights on campus. Everyone went out on Thursday nights. In fact, I can remember getting ready with my roommates to head into Clemson’s little downtown or to one of the many parties across town, and leaving the house at 10 p.m.

I could still do it.

Ha. Bah ha. Ha ha ha!

Okay, that’s over.

Just wanted to share a new web site page of photos I’ve posted from the many Keowee Valley events I’ve attended since the novel was published in September 2012. There are definitely some I’ve missed, so if you happened to attend a reading, book signing, book talk, book club meeting, history lecture, party, literary festival, writer’s conference or anything else with me, I’d love to see them. You can email them to me at thewritingscott@gmail.com. Do let me know if they’re okay for me to post.

And let’s all remember, as we peruse these photos, that I was pregnant. In fact, I grew increasingly MORE pregnant as the year went on. Thank you.

* * *

In other news, I’m packing my bags and readying myself for the fabulous Carolina Mountains Literary Festival in Burnsville, N.C., tomorrow through Saturday. Because of this, there’ll be no “Show & Tell Friday” post this week. I’ll try to pick back up next week.

Some time this month I plan to celebrate Keowee Valley’s one year birthday. Not sure how. Now sure when. Not sure what. But it’ll happen, so be on the lookout.

Artist-in-Residence: The Reserve at Lake Keowee (Part I)

I've enjoyed a few artist residencies during my short time as a published writer, and they've all been different: located in different parts of the country, with varying lengths of stay, accommodations, perks, and expectations of the artist. Certainly, my own creative output during each has varied. During one artists' residency, I began a new novel; at another, I researched that novel and wrote poetry; at yet a different residency, I wrote an essay that actually won an award that ended up covering the cost of a rental car and plane fare to and from that residency.

 

At my most recent gig as the very lucky Artist-in-Residence at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, South Carolina, where I stayed for a week, I wrote five pages of what I imagine will be the sequel to Keowee Valley.

I know what you're thinking. Five pages--only five pages--in a week's time? Let me explain: my family was there with me. Yep, the husband, the (newly-turned) 4 year-old, and the 12 week-old. Only one absent was the dog.

I know there are writers out there who can write amid professional and familial chaos, but I am not one of them. My brain spins in overdrive and my imagination is as fickle and mercurial as an afternoon thunderstorm over the Southern Appalachians. And if you know nothing about the storms we get around here, they're moody, fast-moving, completely random, and often violent.

 

the Guest House (or, as my 4 year-old says, the "castle house")

So what I'm saying is, five pages is miraculous! Especially since the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and these first few months of my infant's life have been energy-sucking. Wonderful, wouldn't-trade-it-for-the-world wild, and exhausting. To feel inspired to write again was a blessing. And the impetus for the inspiration was entirely because of our gorgeous and peaceful accommodations at the guest house of a pair of incredibly generous members. (Who also happen to be HUGE Clemson fans. Go Tigers!)
 
 

The guest house was set away from the main house across a lovely bridge spanning a little

"our" bridge (my husband's got the infant carseat; my 4 year-old's the
tiny figure sprinting ahead)

mountain cove. Bubbling and gurgling (and full-on rushing, as it was after several days in a row of rain) down the back of that tree-filled cove was a series of small waterfalls. The creek rushed beneath the bridge just below the house, emptying into the lake nearby. Inside, the home was elegant, warm and comfortable--a combination I think can be sometimes difficult to find. Designed with rich wood, stunning stone and completely outfitted with anything a guest could need, it was the perfect place to get my groove back.

Yes, I just said that. Forgive me, Stella.

For most of the days we were there, if the baby and the 4 year-old let me, I would wake at 5 a.m., brew my coffee and head out to the screened-in porch on the second story. The porch overlooked the aforementioned bridge and creek, and so when I looked out all I saw were green trees--all I heard the rush of water through the woods. Heaven.

 

Kathryn Gravely, the Director of the The Community Foundation, had pretty much the absolute perfect week planned for me: one book talk to members of a couple different book clubs in The Reserve, two informal meet-and-greets with members outside The Reserve's Market, and one history talk at Orchard House, a beautiful room with a huge fireplace located at the Clubhouse. Orchard House reminded my husband and me of an inn we'd stayed in when we'd traveled in Scotland several years ago. With a kick of Southern style, of course.

The rest of the week, Kathryn told me, I was to relax with my family at the lake and by the community's fabulous pools (let me just say that there was a grotto), enjoy the natural beauty of The Reserve (the lake, hiking trails, orchard, views, etc), and to WRITE. What a gift!

As a bonus, I met some fantastic people during the week, at the informal gatherings, by the pool, at the Market, and at both my talks. Kathryn--who is as genuine, classy, cool, and savvy as they come (not to mention very, very good at her job)--had assured me at the beginning of the week that The Reserve was home to some of the friendliest people I'd ever meet, and she was right. In addition--and she'd told me this, too--the folks there were welcoming, very casual, inclusive, and fun. This was something I'd not necessarily expected from a place as "exclusive" as The Reserve. Meeting and talking with people from all walks of life is probably, besides the actually crafting of the story, my favorite thing to do as a writer.

In addition to all the good fellowship, let me just say that this was an incredibly generous artist residencies in so many other ways. And I'm truly grateful to have received it.

 
** Next time, I'll talk about some of the other things I got to do at The Reserve, including exploring a couple of early 19th century graveyards, hiking around an "Indian cave," and answering questions about local Cherokee history and culture. I'll also share my thoughts about how to best enjoy and utilize an artists' residency like this one.

What a Weekend!

Just wanted to share a photo of the incredible Cherokee (or pre-Cherokee) arrowhead presented to me by a reader at a book event over the weekend. The picture doesn't do it justice--it is truly cool.

 

On a side note, I tend to wear this maternity turtleneck quite a bit, don't I? And I look tired. It's time to wear makeup.

 

For a full recap of the weekend's book events (two held on the very land where Keowee Valley is set), and news about future book travel, click here. 

A Moveable Feast

* This content was also posted at my author web site.

I’ve just returned from a fabulous visit to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where I was the featured author at Litchfield Books’s Moveable Feast.

Oh, Pawleys Island. Oh, wonderful readers. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I’ll do that in a minute.

But for now, here’s the play-by-play of the event.

Moveable Feast is a joint project of Litchfield Books, an independent bookstore, and area restaurants. Every Friday, a different author appears at a different restaurant. Participants pay the price of the ticket, which covers the lunch, the author’s presentation, and a discount off the price of the novel. Featured authors in the past have included writers like Pat Conroy, Nora Roberts, Mary Alice Monroe, Ron Rash, Elizabeth Gilbert, and more.

I’m the luckiest of authors, for two reasons.

1.) October is a gorgeous month to be on the South Carolina coast. Daytime temperatures drop to the low 70s and upper 60s, the influx of summer traffic thins, and the humidity disappears. Sunrises and sunsets over the ocean are crystal clear, awe-inducing, and dusk is a silver-purple dream.

2.) My event was hosted and catered by the famous Sea View Inn, known for its delicious food, island hospitality and incredible view. I know, without a doubt, that there were many attendees who showed up just because of the venue. And I think that’s great!

I grew up spending summer vacations on the South Carolina coast, at nearby Garden City Beach. Pawleys Island has always been a special spot for my family—my father grew up spending summer vacations there, and sometimes his parents would rent an old beach house (the oldest houses on the island were built in the 1700s) for the entire summer. His mother, his siblings and he would live the 1950s island life while his dad drove down from Columbia (the state capital) when he was done with work on the weekends.

So I have a host of stories in my head about the place, including all the ghost stories my dad told us—"Alice’s Grave," "The Gray Man," and more. Most South Carolina kids grow up--or used to--knowing these stories, but actually being in the place where they happened? And trying on your mother's engagement ring while walking backwards around Alice's grave 14 times, to see if it disappears? Priceless. And a whole other story.

Back in August, my parent rented a wonderful 1920s oceanfront house on Pawleys, and they, my sister and her husband, my family, and all our dogs spent an idyllic week wandering the shore, finding starfish and baby stingrays in tidal pools, biking around the island, and sitting on the screened-in porch that faced the sea, drinking adult beverages and rocking in old rocking chairs.

Ahh, summer. Where was I?

Oh, yes. Friday. Moveable Feast. And my very first author event for Keowee Valley!

So, suffice it to say, it was an utter treat to return to a place that I love. I arrived early, parked my car in the sand-shelled lot—it was already packed— and hiked up the wooden steps and into the Inn. A lovely fire was burning in the fireplace in the main room, and the smell of woodsmoke and the view through the windows out onto the huge front porch, over the dunes and into the ocean had me grinning in delight. It was a gorgeous, sunny, cloudless day.

There was a small table set up in the corner of the room, where the Litchfield Books manager was selling copies of Keowee Valley and Michael Morris’s Man in the Blue Moon (Morris is on tap to be the next featured author at Moveable Feast).  Here’s a shot of me in that lovely, light-filled room, reading over my presentation one last time.

My mother and a dear friend, Gayle, were also in attendance. It was such fun to have them there: both took photos, and every time I passed Gayle she was talking up Keowee Valley to somebody. It always helps to have back up. Especially when that back up is completely supportive and in no way unbiased.

The innkeeper showed me around the dining room, which was set up with pretty place settings and flowers, and tables ready for the 60+ readers in attendance. Then, after we were all seated, she introduced me with a flourish, and I was on.

I talked about many things, but mostly told the crowd a little bit about myself, about the inspirations behind Keowee Valley, and about my writing life. What a wonderful audience they were! Attentive, bright-eyed, smart and inquisitive, they even laughed at my jokes. I thoroughly enjoyed taking their questions at the end, especially. I just love to talk books.

Talking Keowee Valley, microphone in hand



Then, the lunch. Oh, the lunch. Sea View Inn fried chicken, squash casserole, potato salad, sweet rolls, peach cobbler. How do I love thee?

Kidding. But that meal was to-die-for. My mother, who probably has a tinier waist now than she did in high school, had to keep herself from audibly groaning with happiness. (She loves fried chicken.)

A lovely reader with several books in arm

 

I have to say, though, that my absolute favorite part of the event was meeting readers—folks who’d already read Keowee Valley, and those who bought the book there. (Actually, Litchfield Books sold out of the novel at the event and at their store. I can only imagine that this is a good thing.)

I just love people in general, especially readers. They used to call my paternal granddaddy “Speaker,” because he couldn’t walk down the street without talking to everyone he knew or didn’t, and I think I may be the same way. I also used to be a reporter, and I could hold a conversation with a brick wall. Who knows what stories it has to tell? (Not sure what that says about me, or the wall, but it's true.)

Signing books

 

Those folks at Moveable Feast were a joy. I loved hearing their stories, answering questions, and just talking about history and literature and the people and places we had in common. I hope they’ll keep in touch.

Happy readers, happy author!

 

 

 

Signing books in front of the Inn's beautiful fireplace
(by the way, I firmly believe that cowboy boots are a necessary aspect of any social occasion)

 

Meanwhile, as my mom, Gayle and I were enjoying good food and good, booky fellowship at the Sea View Inn, my dad and Gayle’s husband, Willie, were on granddaddy duty. They took my 3 year-old daughter to the beach to build sandcastles, to the condo pool, to Quigley’s Pub for nachos and quesadillas, and to Walgreen’s for a giant bag of lollipops. Wylie was returned to me with a host of stories about her day and a mouthful of bright blue lollipop.

 

My beach girl

 

A good time was most definitely had by all.

All in all, the whole thing was a roaring success—and a fantastic way to kick off the next couple of months of book events for Keowee Valley.

Thanks so much to all the folks at Litchfield Books, the Sea View Inn, and to those wonderful readers who came out to hear this first-time author. I do hope we meet again!

 

* Next up:

On Tuesday, I give a presentation in Brevard, North Carolina, at the Transylvania County Library’s Bag Lunch Arts Series. It’s called “The Slanted Truth: When Fiction Meets History,” and I’m going to discuss my life as a historical novelist, what draws me to historical fiction and my own research process, and even the ethics of writing within the genre. Highland Books, Brevard’s independent bookstore (and a favorite haunt of mine), will be selling Keowee Valley there after the talk. If you’re in the area, please join us! And if you’re not, look for a blog post re-cap at the end of the week.