Tag Archives: authors

Tuesday, April 23 ~ C. E. Smith (A Pocket Wild: Notes from a Carolina Marsh) at Hot Fish Club

C.E. (Chip) Smith is the voice for the natural world in Murrells Inlet. Known and loved for his brilliant black-
and-white photography and his piercing, evocative essays on what he calls this “pocket wild” – essays that grew from articles published in his weekly newspapers the Inlet Image and Barefoot Messenger, and in the much-missed Lowcountry Companion – and respected by area scientists for his rational analysis of “the data” and its implications for our future,

Chip doesn’t just talk the talk. In post-Hugo 1992, he started the now-regionally recognized “Spring
Tide” clean-up of the creek, when more than 600 Inlet enthusiasts brought in 75-150 tons of trash and hurricane debris. For the first decade, the yearly haul ranged from 12-15 tons and, in recent years (under the auspices of Murrells Inlet 2020), between 300-400 volunteers annually harvest about 3-5 tons of
flotsam and jetsam out of the marsh and from along the roadways – an improvement but a job without end.

His lyrical, informative essays celebrate the natural workings of the Inlet marsh while soberly examining the effects of economic development. Reading Chip will send you marshside to explore for yourself … or get you googling to learn more. Whether you’re a “been-yere” or a “come-yere,” you will find new knowledge, new understanding, and new feelings of protectiveness for this “pocket wild” from a prose poet who loves the place, learns all he can, and shares it with you.

Saturday, April 27 ~ Billy Baldwin, Macon Rutledge & Hannah Marley (Archibald Rutledge’s How Wild
Was My Village) at McClellanville Town Hall

The second CLASS Publishing reprint of Archibald Rutledge’s work How Wild Was My Village (first
published for brief circulation in 1969) has an interesting literary origin and history, which William (Billy) Baldwin (who should be the current SC poet laureate) recounts in his new foreword to the book. The question posed to the village residents (all renamed to protect the guilty) is “what was the defining moment of your life,” which some recount from beyond the grave while others from living
memory.

With bold illustrations by D.P. McGuire and set in free verse poetry, the tales told are filled with violence,
longing, regret, fear, betrayal, redemption and love – all of the burdens of humanity, whether the stage is a metropolis or a tiny community like McClellanville.

Tuesday, April 16, 11 AM-1 PM ~ Heather Frese (The Saddest Girl on the Beach) at 21 Main, NMB

719 North Beach Boulevard, North Myrtle Beach 29582

Grieving after her father’s death, a young woman seeks solace in an Outer Banks beach town of North Carolina where her best friend’s family runs a small inn. The family welcomes Charlotte with chowder dinners and a cozy room, but her friend Evie has a looming life change of her own, and soon Charlotte seeks other attractions to navigate her grief. Will she, like in some television movie, find her way back through a romance, or are there larger forces at play?

Winner of the Lee Smith Novel Prize for her debut novel The Baddest Girl on the Planet, Frese sets Charlotte on a beautifully rendered course through human frailty, unrelenting science, and the awesome forces of the Carolina coast.

In addition to the coveted Lee Smith Novel Prize, Frese was longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and was named one of the Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads of 2021.

She attended Ohio University for her M.A. followed by an M.F.A. in fiction from West Virginia University. A freelance writer, Heather worked with Outer Banks publications as well as publishing short fiction, essays, poetry, and interviews in various literary journals, including Michigan Quarterly Review, Los Angeles Review, Front Porch, Barely South Review, Switchback, and elsewhere.

Coastal North Carolina is her longtime love and source of inspiration, her writing deeply influenced by the wild magic and history of the Outer Banks. She currently writes, edits, and teaches in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Tues., July 11 ~ Bonnie Kistler (Her, Too) at Inlet Affairs ($35)
(4024 US-17 Business, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576)

efending an accused rapist, a high-powered lawyer learns firsthand the terrible truth about
her client … a discovery that propels her on a quest for revenge in this addictively readable
thriller from the author of The Cage. A former trial lawyer, Bonnie Kistler spent her career
in private practice with major law firms and successfully tried cases in federal and state
courts across the country, as well as teaching writing skills to other lawyers and lecturing
frequently to professional organizations and industry groups.

*Tues., July 18 ~ T.I. Lowe (Indigo Isle) at Hopsewee Plantation ($45)
(494 Hopsewee Rd, Georgetown, SC 29440)

From the author of the breakout Southern fiction bestseller Under the Magnolias comes a story
of hanging on and letting go, of redemption and reconciliation. Sonny Bates left South
Carolina fifteen years ago and never looked back. Now she’s a successful Hollywood location
scout who travels the world, finding perfect places for movie shoots. Home is wherever she
lands, and between her busy schedule and dealing with her boss’s demands, she has little time
to think about the past . . . until her latest gig lands her a stone’s throw from everything she left
behind. Searching off the coast of Charleston for a secluded site to film a key scene, Sonny
wanders onto a private barrier island and encounters its reclusive owner, known by locals as
the Monster of Indigo Isle. What she finds is a man much more complex than the myth, an
exile who spends his days alone, tending his fields of indigo, then making indigo dye―and he
has no interest in serving the intrusive needs of a film company or yielding to Sonny’s determined curiosity. Until a hurricane makes landfall, stranding them together. After a Southern sampler lunch, you will be treated to a demonstration of indigo dye-making, with additional tour options.

Eliza Knight (Starring Adele Astaire) at Pawleys Plantation ($35) WED., July 26
(70 Tanglewood Drive, Pawleys Island, SC, 29585)

Eliza Knight is an award-winning, USA Today and international bestselling author. Eliza is
an avid history buff, and true crime obsessed. Her love of history began as a young girl
when she traipsed the halls of Versailles. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society
and Novelists, Inc., the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, a co-host
on the History, Books and Wine podcast and a co-host for the true crime podcast, Crime
Feast. Eliza’s new story is full of glitz and glam as she delves into the life of Adele Astaire,
a spirited and talented woman who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage—
with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire—along with a determined young
dancer with rags-to-riches dreams.

Mostly Tuesdays, 11 AM-1 PM, Mostly $30*

Luncheons with exciting authors, artists, musicians & historians at area eateries
For 25 years, the Moveable Feast, founded and managed by Linda Ketron, has been held at local restaurants throughout the year on Fridays (and some Tuesdays). Going forward, Moveable Feasts are scheduled for mostly Tuesday unless the presenter or the preferred venue is unavailable. In addition to authors, the Moveable Feasts will feature artists and musicians, historians and folks of interest! The presentation precedes the meal. For each Feast, the chef prepares a special menu, typically unavailable during the restaurant’s public hours. Food allergies are accommodated with advance notice; vegetarian option always available. Individuals, couples, friends, book clubs, and other small groups are assigned table seating. We will call to confirm your reservation 10 days prior to the event. *Each Feast is $30 unless additional expenses dictate higher. For reservations, 843.235.9600 or visit www.ClassAtPawleys.com.

Tues., Feb. 14 ~ Jill Trinka (Appalachian Songs of Love) at Litchfield Country Club

(619 Country Club Drive, Pawleys Island 29585)

Love songs come in all manner of styles – ballads, lyric songs, and “just for fun” pieces – encompassing the myriad facets of love: courtship, coquettish, mysterious, teasing, true, absent, unrequited, lost, false, and old. Don’t miss this Musical Moveable Feast with Jill’s selection of love songs from Appalachia (and somewhat beyond). Jill’s performances and recordings are beloved around the world and especially in the United States, where she researches, records, and teaches teachers, children, and people just like you!

Tues., Feb. 21 ~ John Cribb (The Rail Splitter) at Pawleys Tap & Pour

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Pawleys Island 29585)

The author of the acclaimed novel Old Abe has penned a new work of historical fiction that brings Abraham Lincoln to life as never before. The Rail Splitter tells the story of Abraham Lincoln’s remarkable journey from a log cabin to the threshold of the White House—a journey that turns him into one of America’s most beloved heroes. We walk beside him on every page of this spellbinding novel and come to know his hopes and struggles on his winding path to greatness. John’s previous work includes coauthoring The American Patriot’s Almanac and The Educated Child, both New York Times bestsellers; co-editing The Human Odyssey, a 3-volume world history text; and developing on- line history courses. John also worked as former US Secretary of Education Bill Bennett’s collaborator on the New York Times #1 bestseller The Book of Virtues. He has appeared on numerous TV, radio, and podcast shows such as
C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and Fox News’s Fox & Friends, and his writing has been published in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, FoxNews.com, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, and several other publications.

Tues., Feb. 28 ~ Ron Daise (Geechee Literature Series) at The Village House

(13089 Ocean Hwy, Building E, Pawleys Island 29585)

Not one to rest on his laurels, Ron Daise has authored two new books. He is the former Vice President for
Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens, the former star of Nick Jr. TV’s “Gullah Gullah Island,” a former
chairman of the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, a recipient of The Palmetto Award of SC, The Governor’s Award, and the Jean Lacey Harris Heritage Award. Experience from each of these affiliations are echoed in We Wear the Mask – Unraveled Truths in a Pre-Gullah Community and Turtle Dove Done Drooped His Wings – A Gullah Tale of Flight or Fight, the first two novellas of his “Geechee Literature Series.” The books showcase Gullah Geechee culture as contemporary through historical and literary fiction. Each story connects the past, present, and future. Rest assured that a “talk” by Ron is going to be a riveting “performance.”

Tues., March 7 ~ Laurie Loewenstein (Unmentionables) at Inlet Affairs

Loewenstein applies her brilliant journalistic research to an award-winning historical fiction account of the dress reform advocate who shocked Chatauqua audiences a century ago in the midwest, inspiring young women to fight for the vote and equal opportunities, to leave the prejudicial expectations of their small-town society and find their way in big-city Chicago and war-torn France. A vivid tale of different times and issues, many of which are still unresolved today.

Tues., March 14 ~ Stephanie Alexander (Tipsy Collins Trilogy) at Pawleys Plantation (Sawgrass)
The trilogy – Charleston Green, Haint Blue, and Palmetto Rose – is an exploration of women’s everyday trials and tribulations, with a hefty dose of southern charm and supernatural intrigue. New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand praises Charleston Green as “skillful and clever and funny.” Kirkus Reviews calls it “an enchanting novel of a woman finding her way out of a midlife (and mid-death) crisis.”

Tues., March 21 ~ C. Hope Clark (Edisto Island Mysteries) at Hot Fish Club

A decade after her first Moveable Feast and more than that many new mysteries under her pen, Hope Clark returns with the 9th book (Badge of Edisto) in her third mystery series (preceded by the Carolina Slade and Craven County series). Retired Police Chief Callie Jean Morgan is having second thoughts about her half-assed “good ol’ boy” replacement in the town of Edisto – with lethal cause. Hope Clark’s books have been honored as winners of the Epic Award, Silver Falchion Award, the Imaginarium Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award.

Tues., April 11 ~ Teri M. Brown (Sunflowers Beneath the Snow and An Enemy Like Me)

at Pawleys Tap & Pour

After garnering six awards in 2022 for her first historical fiction, Teri Brown has written a compelling second novel. In Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, she explored the tenacity of women, showing that even in grueling circumstances (i.e., Ukraine under Soviet control), they can, and do, experience all the good things life has to offer – compassion, joy, love, faith, and wonder. Now, in An Enemy Like Me, Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by her first-generation American protagonist, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he left for and fought in a war he did not create. Here, she explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them. We are watching this drama play out again.

Tues., April 18 ~ Liz Newall (You Don’t Have to Tell Everything You Know)

at Quigley’s Next Door

Liz Newall grew up in the tiny cotton town of Starr in upstate South Carolina where she heard many a-story, some joyfully repeated, others barely whispered. She’s been a teacher, peach picker, freelance writer, and longtime managing editor of Clemson World alumni magazine. Now retired, she lives on the family farm in the Wild Hog community of Pendleton, S.C., with her husband, Billy, and their dogs, King and Jessi. Her first work of historical fiction tracks the life of Isamar Woods Jones McGee, born in upstate South Carolina into a second family in 1865, one month after the Civil War ended. Her life is a product of unsettled times, family dynamics, and the human condition. She tells her story and those of the people around her through journal entries, which she annotates and amends in her final days. Her travels take her down the Savannah River and to the 1901 Charleston Exposition where she meets Beautiful Jim Key, billed as the world’s smartest horse, and a young Nancy Columbia, the Inuit star of stage and screen in the early 1900s. Isamar’s life and times offer a fascinating, often funny, sometimes complex testament to the joys and sorrows of the human heart — regardless of era.

*Tues., April 25 ~ Patricia Kolencik & Jane Petrone (Wachesaw & Richmond Hill Plantations:

A Short History) at Kimbel’s, Wachesaw ($50 incl. signed book)

After several years researching, fact checking, writing, editing, polishing and proofing, Patty & Jane are ready to share the fascinating history of their community. Step back in time as these two lifelong educators take you on a captivating journey through the centuries to reveal the complex historical account of two intertwined antebellum rice plantations, Wachesaw and Richmond Hill. This intriguing trek through the passage of time will take the reader through the early Native American settlements to colonization, the rice culture, the Civil War and Reconstruction, northern investment, and southern development, highlighting the families whose lives revolved around the two estates. Whether a history buff or just a curious reader, this short history brings the whispers from the past alive as one journeys through the victories and struggles of these plantations, which are now recognized in the National Register of Historic Places. (Registration priority granted to WPC members and Wachesaw
residents.)