Author Mary E. Kingsley will host an appearance and book signing in the Lowry Room on the third floor of the Welch Family Wing at the James V. Brown Library from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 12 to promote her debut novel, "Angel", a poignant, comical, suspenseful and surprising narrative of a young girl's longing and struggle for the truth of her family's past.
It is the story of a family's journey to the truth, told through the eyes of 13-year-old Angel Bishop.
She's fed up with all the unanswered questions about her life, like why did her Daddy run off when she was just a baby, leaving her to grow up fatherless?
And why has her Aunt Patsy, the only family member she feels she can talk to, been locked up in a place for crazy people all these years?
It seems to Angel like her family fell completely apart right after she was born, which makes her wonder what her coming along had to do with it.
Angel is genuine, southern literary fiction set against the backdrop of a southern Appalachian town in the early 1970s. Anyone who loves a wonderful storys told in an authentic voice and full of memorable characters will take this book to their hearts.
A true child of the South, Mary E. Kingsley was born in Kingsport, Tenn., and found herself shaped by the surrounding hills of southern Appalachia that defined both her and the local culture.
Knowing that writing was an important part of who she was from an early age, Kingsley nevertheless considered a career as a writer to be beyond her grasp, even as she continued in various ways to write to herself while devoting herself to career and family.
But as time passed Kingsley realized that the artist within her could not be denied and she began writing in a more dedicated way.
The result of that dedication is the novel "Angel", which Kingsley gladly offers to the reading public and promises more to come. Visit the library on Sept. 12 to share Kingsley's thoughts on "Angel" and other subjects.
"Angel" is available online at maryekingsley.com and through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other outlets. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information on Kingsley, visit maryekingsley.com.
For more information about the library, call 326-0536 or go to www .jvbrown.edu.
