Book Report: Local literary news

Columnist Susan Reinhardt hosts a reading and signing of her quirky new novel, Chimes from a Cracked Southern Belle at Malaprop’s on Saturday, Aug. 10, 7 p.m. “Most people think the reason Dee Millings married the best looking man in the Carolinas who turned out to be a complete psycho and near-murderer is because she was raised all wrong,” says a preview of the book. Dee’s “new adventure begins two years after the crime spree that nearly stopped her heart and left her flat-lining. She packs up her two young kids and settles in her parents’ South Carolina hometown where she deals with a delightful, but over-the-top mama who pretends her grown daughters are virgins.” You’re already laughing, right? And it just goes on from there.

Writer Bob Mustin is the author of Sam’s Place, a collection of connected short stories that revolve around a small-town Alabama bar and pool hall. “Locals from all walks of life come to Sam’s Place to escape the heat, play pool, drink, and talk. It’s a wild and rowdy bar at times, but a place as full of life and heart as you’ll find anywhere in the Deep South,” says press for the book. “In Sam’s Place you’ll learn the powerful stories of a wayward preacher, a reformed hooker, an Iraq vet amputee, Sam Witherspoon himself, and other customers.”

Mustin will read and sign copies of Sam’s Place at Accent on Books on Saturday, Aug. 17, 11 a.m. He’ll also appear at Fountainhead Books in Hendersonville on Saturday, Aug. 24, 1 p.m., and at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville on Saturday, Aug. 31, 3 p.m.

Editor and writer Leslee N. Johnson is the author of Flight of the Mind: A Painter’s Journey Through Paralysis. The book is 25-year retrospective of the life of quadriplegic artist Marcus C. Thomas. (Read more about a short film made about Thomas here.) Of Flight of the Mind, Johnson says, it’s “a coffee-table art book with over 200 full color images of Thomas’ art and a narrative of his life story — how he became injured, how he started to paint, his process and sources of inspiration.”

Johnson holds a launch for Flight of the Mind at Battery park Book Book Exchange on Tuesday, Aug. 27,  7 p.m.

Veronica Watts, another local author and a UNCA grad, just published her first e-novel, The Healing Year. As Watts explains, her book follows college professor Joanna and artist Rachel, “through grief, forgiveness, and a long road back to trust. Rachel must face disappointment in herself as she comes to terms with actions she couldn’t have predicted while Joanna uses any tool available to try to organize thoughts on her life. Joanna delves into her childhood through discussions with her daughter and focuses on the present through her work. Rachel finds forgiveness and confidence through her art and her family.” The book can be purchased through Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Amazon and Smashwords. 

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About Alli Marshall
Alli Marshall has lived in Asheville for more than 20 years and loves live music, visual art, fiction and friendly dogs. She is the winner of the 2016 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and the author of the novel "How to Talk to Rockstars," published by Logosophia Books. Follow me @alli_marshall

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