With seven unpublished novels wasting away on his hard drive, Tony Vanderwarker was astonished when world-renowned author John Grisham offered to take him under his wing and mentor Tony on the art of thriller writing. Plus: Novelist Carrie Brown (Hollins University) draws inspiration from her years as a small-town America journalist, and from the mysteries of the cosmos. Her new book The Stargazer’s Sister tells the story of two remarkable sibling astronomers whose work led to the discovery of the planet Uranus.
Later in the show: When Jack Beck and Wendy Welch (University of Virginia at Wise) decided to move to the small mountain town of Big Stone Gap, they hadn’t planned on opening a used bookstore. But a big Victorian house captured their imaginations and before they knew it they were setting up shop. Despite the growing popularity of e-readers and a downturn in the national economy, Jack and Wendy’s small-town bookstore is thriving—and fostering community. Wendy’s book about their experience is called The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book.
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1) This is a wonderful radio program. From here in Hawaii, 5000 miles from my home state of Virginia, I adore Thursday evenings on public radio, because I get half an hour of great radio from home. Having grown up in Lee County in the extreme SW corner, and living in Williamsburg for 18 years, my rich experiences from one end of the state to the other have beautifully informed my (equally beautiful) life in Hawaii for the last 30 years – the best of all words, being *from* Virginia and *in* Hawaii!
2) This particular program about ‘The Little Bookstore’ will be extra (extra-extra) special, because every time I get back home to Southwest Virginia, the bookstore is one of my first stops. I loved Wendy’s book, and highly recommend it.
So, ‘mahalo nui loa’ for it all – that’s ‘thank you very much’ in the Hawaiian language.
Mahalo to you for your kind words Suzanne. I grew up in Williamsburg and have kin in Lee County. But I’ve just returned from my first ever visit to Hawaii, a week in Kauai and my heart is filled with the beauty everywhere there and the graciousness of all the people I encountered.
Gosh I’m sorry I didn’t know you were here. Kauai – Hanalei! – was my home for a decade before Hurricane ‘Iniki tossed us all around and moved me to Honolulu. You’re so right about Hawaii – beauty and kindness are abundant. I am richly blessed.
And roosters and chickens are abundant! I learned how Hurricane Iniki had unleashed so many domestic fowl, they now number in the hundreds of thousands and colorfully wander the island–only adding to the charm.