For the last decade of Leah Weiss’ 24-year tenure as executive assistant to the headmaster of Virginia Episcopal School, the North Carolina native wrote fiction on the side. Six years into her literary journey, she entered a short story contest. Working from the opening prompt, “I struggle to my feet,” Weiss envisioned a young girl from Appalachia, and the resulting four-page piece wound up winning the competition. The story sat untouched for four years, but in 2015, Weiss retired from her job and began expanding the story into a novel about a new wife and mother who sees a potential escape from her abusive husband. Weiss will discuss that book, titled If the Creek Don’t Rise, in a free event at Malaprop’s on Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. malaprops.com. Photo courtesy of the author
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