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ZEBULON - Lisa Wingate, author of New York Times bestselling Carolina Heirlooms series, will be the featured speaker at a luncheon to benefit the J. Joel Edwards Public Library on Tuesday, September 15. The event, held at Zebulon’s United Methodist Church, will begin at 11:30 with a luncheon, followed by the presentation and a book signing.
Wingate launched her promotional tour for the third book in this series, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters, here in GA, starting with an interview with Dick Morrow on Good Morning Griffin, WKEU radio 88.9, at 10:15 AM on September 2.
On September 8 at 9:15 AM, Wingate was be the guest for Mick in the Morning radio show, WTGA radio 101.9 FM, to discuss the fundraiser for the J. Joel Edwards Public Library in Zebulon.
Not only readers of Christian fiction, but also those who enjoy Appalachian stories, historical fiction, mysteries, or a good romance will enjoy Wingate’s Carolina Heirloom series, set in North Carolina’s beautiful Outer Banks and Blue Ridge Mountains. The first two books of this series, The Prayer Box and The Story Keeper are currently available for purchase at A Novel Experience in Zebulon.
“We are honored to have Wingate visit Zebulon and delighted that she has agreed to speak at our library benefit,” says library manager Rosemary Bunn. Wingate will be speaking on The Preservation of Story, especially as it relates to Roosevelt’s Federal Writers Project, a major theme in the Carolina Heirloom series. “Although the luncheon is free,” says Bunn, “books will be available for purchase at the event. The library will also be accepting donations in lieu of ticket costs.”
Reservations for this event may be made by visiting or calling the J. Joel Edwards Public Library at 770-567-2014 or A Novel Experience at 770-567-1103.
ZEBULON - On September 15, Award-winning author Lisa Wingate will be the featured speaker at a no-cost luncheon from 11:30 am-1:00 pm at First Methodist Church in Zebulon (underwritten by United Bank). Lisa will sign books and talk on "Preservation of Story," providing ideas to the audience on how to preserve their own family stories. A significant percentage of book sales will be donated to the J. Joel Edwards Public Library in memory of Carolyn Gilbert, and the Zebulon City Council is declaring September 15 as Carolyn Gilbert Day in the city.
Lisa's new work, The Sea Keeper's Daughters, an enriching and historically intriguing novel. A prolific writer with a long list of impressive awards (the most recent a Summer 2015 OKRA Pick), Lisa locates her latest novel between the present-day Outer Banks and the recesses of the Appalachian Mountains during the Depression era when a young widow is hired into Roosevelt’s Federal Writers’ Project. (Family Fiction named Lisa Wingate’s previous novel, The Story Keeper, one of the top ten books novels of 2014.)
As the novel's protagonist, Whitney Monroe, fights to keep her restaurant afloat against a hostile competitor, she unwittingly discovers the existence of her Aunt Alice who struggled to take care of herself and her daughter during the Depression. When Whitney’s stepfather Clyde becomes too feeble to live on his own, Whitney has the incentive she needs to return and claim her inheritance at the aged Excelsior Hotel on the Outer Banks. She hopes to relocate Clyde to assisted living, sell the hotel building, and perhaps uncover stored treasures to raise much-needed cash. While she does discover a small collection of valuable items, it is her Aunt Alice’s letters that become Whitney’s most fulfilling treasure.
These letters tell of a brave woman commissioned as a Federal Writer and assigned to write the stories of the everyday mountain folk in Appalachia. Through the pieced-together letters, Whitney considers not only Alice’s difficult journey but her compassion for the multi-racial Melungeon people who suffered many indignities and remain one of the world’s greatest anthropological mysteries. Alice’s chronicle intertwining with Whitney’s own plight highlights the power of one person’s story to affect another’s and the resultant significance of kindness.
The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is an inspiring story of people learning to care for one another amid strife and a work that sheds new light on the work of the WPA folklore writers, who documented thousands of personal histories of a hidden America. As the Federal Writers’ Project reaches its 80th anniversary this month, featuring/reviewing/spotlighting this remarkable novel is especially timely. Tickets are limited and can be reserved by calling the library at 770-567-2014 or A Novel Experience at 770-567-1103.