Ten new books of the region, January 2013

[Rob Neufeld]

What’s new with the region’s books

by Rob Neufeld

 

• We End in Joy: Memoirs of a First Daughter by Angela Fordice Jordan (Univ. Pr. of Mississippi hardcover, Aug. 2012, 191 pages, $25).   The politically liberal daughter of a conservative Mississippi governor relates the in-the-spotlight life of her family, which underwent her parents’ divorce; an honest, intimate portrait of a popular couple’s fall from grace, and their coda.  Jordan now lives in WNC.  See author website at afjordan.com.

 

• Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason (Simon & Schuster: Gallery Books hardcover, Feb. 2013, 320 pages, $24.99).

Darkly humorous debut thriller novel about a man who accidentally kills another man and buries the body in the backyard, where landscapers later unearth two more unknown bodies; written by a WNC resident.   The novel got starred reviews in “Publisher’s Weekly” and “”Booklist.” See author website at www.jamie-mason.com.  Mason speaks at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., Asheville (254-6734), 7 p.m., Feb. 23, 2013.

 

• The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd (Balzer + Bray hardcover, Jan. 29, 2013, 432 pages, $17.99).  Debut novel by a Brevard native and Asheville resident; young adult Gothic thriller inspired by a story by H.G. Well’ “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”  A 16-year-old girl in 1894 London travels to her estranged father’s island and finds murder, madness, romance, and the taint of madness in herself.  See author website at meganshepherd.com.  Shepherd speaks at Highland Books, 277 North Broad St., Brevard (884-2424), 5 p.m., Jan. 29; and at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., Asheville (254-6734), 7 p.m., Feb. 2.

 

• Shadows Tail Them Home by Pris Campbell and Scott Owens (Clemson University trade paper, Dec. 2012, $15.00).  A continuation of an earlier work; a sequence of poems, collaboratively written, describing a relationship; written by local poets.  See Scott Owens’ website, “Musings,” at scottowensmusings.blogspot.com.  The authors speak at Taste Full Beans Coffee House, 29 2nd Street Northwest, Hickory (325-0108), 2 p.m., Sat., Jan. 26.

 

• Just Holler Bloody Murder by Dershie McDevitt (CreateSpace trade paper, December 2012, 298 pages, $12.12).  Debut mystery novel about a naturalist who returns to her home on Timicau Island, SC and encounters development, murder, and the disappearance of a 9-year-old boy; written by an Asheville resident.  See author website at dershiemcdevitt.com.  McDevitt speaks at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., Asheville (254-6734), 3 p.m., Mar. 10.

 

• Awakening to the Dance: A Journey to Wholeness by Georganne Spruce (CreateSpace trade paper, June 2012, 290 pages, $12.99).  Memoir of the author’s search for an authentic identity through many forms of spiritual healing; written by an Asheville resident. See author website.  Spruce speaks at Grateful Steps Publishing House & Bookshop. 5 p.m., Feb. 9.

 

• Alma’s Prayer by Robert Heffner (Dog Ear trade paper, Oct. 2012, 192 pages, $14.00).  A woman takes drastic measures to keep her family together as the Civil War begins to affect the Blue Ridge Mountains, and she worries about her son in the Confederate Army; written by a local author about WNC.

 

• It’s My Trail, Too: A Comanche Indian’s Journey on the Cherokee Trail of Tears by Ronald Cooper (CreateSpace trade paper, Oct. 2012, 366 pages, $18.95).

The author, a member of the Comanche Nation, journeyed down the Cherokee Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in early 2011. This memoir of his experience expresses self-reflection, tribal pride, and inspiring determination; written by a Whittier resident.

 

• The Hotten Report by Robert McDonald (Finbar Press trade paper, Dec. 2012, 168 pages, $14.95).

A “blow-by-blow account” of the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, “and a moving tribute to the indomitable spirit of the American combat soldier:; written by a WNC resident.

 

• The Gathering by J. Dwayne Craigo (PublishAmerica trade paper, Aug. 2012, 155 pages, $24.95).  The 4^th of July celebration in a small east Tennessee town is graced by the President’s visit and disturbed by others.

 

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