Inhumanity

Some books are hard to read, not because of the difficulty of sentence structure or word choice, but because of the theme or because of actions depicted. Such is the case of a few books I want to share, two I read recently. One I helped get published years ago. All three of these, in their own ways, incorporated man's inhumanity to man into the theme.

Its title alone should have prepared me - I was a War Child, a memoir by an author I met at lunch one day last May. This elegant lady, Helene Gaillet de Neergaard, at ninety years, was delightful and self-assured, almost dripping aristocracy. I had a hard time picturing the few events she told me about her childhood years. The subtitle, World War II Memoir of a Little French Girl, held more of a clue to the book than the delightful person sitting beside me. I added her book to my TBR stack, but kept selecting other books ahead of it because I just never seemed to be in the mood to read about man's inhumanity to child. Between Christmas and New Year's this year, I had some downtime and looked through the stack. There it was, and maybe I was ready, I decided. I gulped, opened to page one, and dove in. I was immediately sucked into a life I could never imagine, nor hope to imagine for any child now in 2026. 

What happens to children when they hear bombs all night or have to leave their homes because of war? She tells. Give it a read!

Her nonfiction about France during the war years dredged up memories of my reading Kristin Hannah's historical fiction, The Nighengale. This was one of those books I wanted to slam shut the cover and scream, but couldn't bear to stop reading long enough to do it. Two views of war-torn France, often too graphic, yet too necessary not to be. As was the other book by Kristin Hannah, The Women. It too sat on my TBR stack for the same reason as the others - my reluctance to surround myself with stories of war and death and the inhumanity of it all. I read this one in December of this year, when all around me were lights and cheer and gaiety. Instead, I wreathed (what an appropriate word for this time of year) myself in the life of nurses in Viet Nam. It wasn't pleasant. It was hard to take. But if we ignore the inhumanity and skip books such as these, then the act remains hidden and easier to repeat.

The settings of those books were continents away, not here in the United States, where freedom rings. We brag about freedoms. We teach our children that the First Amendment to the Constitution protects free speech and freedom of religion. And yet...

Tell that to the characters featured in Debbra Beecher Nance's book The Picking Bag. Ten years ago (has it really been ten years?), an author friend and I agreed to help Debbra self-publish this middle grade novel. She sent the manuscript and I read it. The theme of inhumanity struck me deeply. Here in America, Mormons were persecuted because of their faith. The novel follows a young boy as his family is forced to move away from the only home he'd ever known. It was not merely a pack-up-and-move story. It was one of death and destruction...and inhumanity.

In my books I have only touched on man's humanity to man once, and it's in my latest release, only a paragraph or two. I wrote a memoir, well, a memoir of sorts, I call it. It delves into my family history and I couldn't leave out the story of my sixth great-grandparents.

While The Great Donora Fog and Other Family Stories concerns a town in Pennsylvania, I included stories about my family that I had heard told over and over. These sixth great-grandparents were killed when their house was burned as punishment for believing as they did, for being Huguenots. Only my fifth great-grandfather escaped, as I write it, "with the family Bible and my genes." That was on another continent, but there was my third great-grandfather who, on US military duty in 1812, was burned at the stake by native Americans who were defending their right to exist. The past should haunt us!

In all these books, without exception, the take-away for me, was survival. Despite what was done to them, people came out the other end stronger, wiser, and with a surprising amount of compassion for others, considering what they had endured.

Books like these are a must-read for us to develop this compassion as well. Civilization depends on revealing the past so we can do better when it's our turn.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Away With the Manger

 Quick, before you pack it up, go check your manger scene. Is the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes like the one on the back cover of my children's book, When Christmas Feels Like Home?

Or is Baby Jesus lying in a manger with His arms splayed outward and legs crossed at the ankles, like in this one I found at the chapel of our church?

There's a reason for both. The first comes from scripture, the second chapter of Luke in the seventh verse, "...she wrapped him in swaddling clothes..." That's how I pictured a manger. I never looked deeper into the nearest nativity scene or creche to pay attention. That is, until I became a docent at author Jan Karon's Mitford Museum. We (I use the pronoun "we" because everyone involved with the museum feels like it is a part of them) walk visitors through the galleries, offering details about the items on display. 

My favorite of all is the gigantic nativity scene under a Christmas tree adorned with ornaments fans gave Jan. But on the floor beneath the tree is the real show stopper - a beautiful creche, hand painted and restored from the decrepit condition Jan found it in when she first laid eyes on it in the window of an antique store in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. She located a person to research the origins of creches and the significance of the colors of each character's clothing, someone who would restore it to its original magnificence. And there it lays, year-round for all to enjoy.

It's the baby that I point out. (I snipped this photo from the Mitford facebook site.)

Notice anything different from the swaddling clothes? 

There this Holy Baby is, his arms splayed, his ankles crossed. There's a deep intentional purpose here. This figure shows not only the birth of the Christ Child, but also the death. He is in the crucifix position. There in the manger is the child/man, fully God, fully man, foreshadowing what we know is to come for him. We can't celebrate the manger without remembering the real reason for the season.

So, now, go check the creche in your home. Look at the Christmas cards you received. Let me know if you discover anything special. 

Do away with the manger and think of the cross.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Part Four of How to Have a Successful Book Launch

Here I am again, finding yet another successful book launch to write home about. 

Did I say successful? Yes, and of course, success comes only after the hard work of writing an excellent book and creating a cover that fits the tone of the story. Mysterious. Cozy. 

The Lake Norman Writers Guild accomplished that in their newly released Auras of Deceit: A Trivolity Cozy Mystery. It was written by a group of authors, each with writing credits of their own, by the way.

Since I didn't know them personally to identify,
I'm listing them in alphabetical order:
Annette Larkin, James W Salkeld, John Stickney
Sandra Warren and E Jax Willoughby

Planning the launch was no easy task, I'm sure, but they did everything right. They picked a date and a time when people were generally free to attend...and arrive home before dark, thank you very much. They procured a site, the event center in their community. They invited people personally. They advertised in the neighborhood newsletter. They autographed each copy of the book ahead of time so they wouldn't be tied to an ink pen instead of enjoying the moment with the guests. They had simple but appropriate refreshments, and therein I found the first of new ideas for a launch. Serve a cake with the cover embedded in the icing:

There it is, surrounded by an array of smaller cakes decorated with open-book cupcake toppers. (It's the small things that add a creative uniqueness to a launch!)

They utilized friends like me to free themselves to enjoy the crowd. Here I am, cutting the cake, while my husband greets people at the door, passing out the welcome fliers. Rest assured that I pointed out the cake for everyone to marvel at before I cut it.

Speaking of food, they also passed out gummy bears, of all things. The imaginative thing about that? We have to read the book to find out why.

Another unique part of this launch was that the authors devised a skit where they introduced the characters in the book by becoming that character. It sure made us want to read about them. Of course, they read enough of the actual book to tantalize us even more.

They were sure to videotape the event. It will be a great tool for future advertising.

Even the way the book could be purchased was well organized: two tables, one for cash, one for alternatives to cash; both covered in stacks of books... (that they had to keep replenishing from the boxes of copies on hand!!!) Inserted in each copy was a note with a QR code for the reader to connect directly to Goodreads, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble in order to write a review. How cool is that! How convenient is that!

Like I say, it's the little things, like Christmas decorations in the background that were already in place, making one less preparation to worry about. And the welcome at the door with a gifted poinsettia beside the poster about an upcoming event.

As the guests arrived, my husband and I passed out the printed thank-you notes. These were also invitations for people to yet another opportunity where the book will be: The Trilogy Author Showcase.

Auras of Deceit will still be offered at the release special price. The difference between this launch and that event is that each author will also bring additional books they have published. I've read some of them. Wow, what a guild of authors this is!

But this launch afternoon was all about one book. I have it at the top of my TBR stack. I can't wait to dive in!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Award Ceremonies

Being a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators over several years brought me many great experiences. I attended their yearly large Carolinas conferences and a few small retreats with well-known authors in the children's literature genre. I attribute much of my success as an author to what I learned at those events. 

That said, the best part of attending any conference is the networking that takes place. I have met so many wonderful writers. Although I am no longer a member since my writing took a turn from the children's market to the memoir/local history adult level market, I have followed the writing careers of several fellow SCBWI members from years ago. I crossed paths with two of them this past Saturday.

On the left is Eileen Heyes, followed in the middle by Carol Baldwin, with me on the other end. 

We were at the annual meeting of the North Carolina Society of Historians at the Wilkes Heritage Museum in Wilkesboro, a perfect venue to celebrate those who have worked to preserve the history of North Carolina. From their website: 

Since 1941, the North Carolina Society of Historians

has presented annual awards of excellence

 to recognize those individuals and organizations

who discover and present information

 about the history and heritage of North Carolina.

That's why we were together on this recent Saturday, to receive recognition for our books preserving a bit of the history of our great state. I've read both the one by Eileen and the one by Carol, and yes, these books are definitely deserving of an award.

Freedom's Howl, by Eileen Heyes, tells the story of a pack of wolves that runs parallel with the story of a pioneer family during the beginnings of the American Revolution. In her acceptance speech, Eileen explained that her book was written for North Carolina's America 250 celebration. She included the red wolves, a species that was hunted to extinction. At the end of the book is a conservation moment about the program that reintroduced red wolves to the wild. 

Half-Truths by Carol Baldwin is set in the 1950s during a racially segregated period of time. Carol spoke about her book's setting in Charlotte and the two girls, one black, one white, who discover they are cousins. It is a must-read for teens, in my humble opinion. While I didn't live in Charlotte or in Tabor City, the other setting in the book, I did live in the state during the fifties. Even at that, so much of what happened was an eye-opener to me. It was fiction based on truth. And the truth often hurts to hear.

My book, Southern Fly Tyers, like Eileen's, speaks to the conservation of our natural resources - hers the wolves and their habitat, mine the trout and their habitat. Mine goes on to tell individual life stories of those people who tie flies. This history goes back to the early Cherokee and continues the narration with individual stories from the men who tied in the turn of the twentieth century all the way to current tyers. It is not a how-to book. It is a how-they book, how they lived their lives.

Our three books were only a few of the ones recognized on Saturday. Eventually, the full list will be on the society's webpage. There's a lot more to the story of preserving North Carolina history. Stay tuned.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen Griffith

Part 3 How to Have a Successful Book Launch

Every book deserves to be celebrated when it, after much frustration and joy and deleting and rewriting and tears, is finally ready to be released into the world! It's a launch, as in rocketing forth! Sometimes a book launch is a jubilee. Sometimes it's a gathering of those who care, a meeting of the minds, of sort. Sometimes it's in a winery where spirits flow. Sometimes in a coffeehouse where the caffeine flows. A senior center. A church fellowship hall. Under a tent at a fall festival. Those have been ways I celebrated being an author with a new book, whether mine alone or with co-authors.

Sometimes, like yesterday, it's a quiet spot in a bookstore with customers dropping in and being introduced to the authors for the first time. I belong to a wonderful group of authors calling ourselves the Foothills Writers. We've published several anthologies containing our original work. This one, Things That Haunt Us, was a fun one to do where we let our imaginations go wild. One of our members arranged the signing and one donated the beautiful table runner to add to the presentation. It turned into more of a book signing than a book jubilee, but don't get me wrong. We were jubilant over its release and had celebrated ourselves at one of our weekly sessions.

With eight authors to schedule around, this celebration became a case of "who can come." Only two of us were able, and I had to leave after a few minutes to go to work. That left one very enthusiastic author who held down the fort and showed the world what we had to offer. 

There we are, moments before I scurried out the door, Tula Smith and I, surrounded by books and books and more books. The featured book that day, proud to say, was our little offering. Thank you, Tybrisa Books, for carving out a spot for authors to share the fruits of their work. We appreciate others appreciating us!

Catch of the day, 

Gretchen

Part Two - How to Have a Successful Book Launch

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help with a book launch. This was not just a plain launch, but a BOOK LAUNCH that pales all the book launches I've ever heard of. Two days long!

The birth of each book deserves to be celebrated, whether it's headed for a small circulation of family and friends or destined to be a New York Times Best Seller, which this one probably is.

The first step in any book launch is to write a wonderful book. Of course, it helps if it is the much-anticipated newest in a wildly successful series - in this case, the sixteenth book of Jan Karon's Mitford series, My Beloved. 

A few years ago, when Jan Karon thought she was finished writing about her main character, Father Tim, and his life in the fictional North Carolina town of Mitford, she decided to create a museum, or as she calls it, "a book without covers." She returned to her roots in the small town of Hudson in the western part of the state where she gained much of the inspiration for characters in the series. She talked with authorities there about possibilities. She found in those authorities a deep desire to preserve the community school building which had been closed for several years.  

Jan Karon is a visionary who sees what can be as much as she sees what is. She saw a way to pay tribute to what made her who she is today, to the value system she drew upon when, several decades ago, she first penned a story about an Episcopalian priest in a small town in the mountains of western North Carolina. She envisioned people searching for "home" and finding it not only in her books, but in a physical spot she would call The Mitford Museum. Nestled in the far back hall of a transformed school building is the location where as a six year old, she began her road to publishing in Mrs. Downs' first-grade classroom. That room is now gallery one, the family room, where visitors are introduced to small-town life in the 1940s. Beside it, through a connecting doorway, is gallery two, the book room, my favorite. It is all about the life of a writer who brought the influences from what is exhibited in gallery one into a faith-based set of books revolving around a minister and his flock. Across the hall in yet another classroom is the Happy Endings Bookstore, based on the very bookstore in the series.

I have been fortunate to be a docent in the museum since the day it opened four years ago. I thought the Grand Opening that October day was a big deal, but this two-day book launch far surpassed that event. Neither came at the snap of a finger. A book launch of this magnitude doesn't just happen. It takes months of planning and coordinating and frustration, and then things falling into place. 

So, back to How to Have a Successful Book Launch: 

After a book has a publication date, detailed planning can begin. Location first, and in this case, where else but at the museum. While the museum is a large part of the Arts Center called the HUB (Hudson Uptown Building in the now repurposed school), there are other businesses and activities there. In addition to the large auditorium, there is a smaller, multipurpose room available. This is where I had my latest book launch in August that I talked about in part one of How to Have a Successful Book Launch. In this case, that same room was used to sell one thing only - My Beloved. 

The hype comes next. Anticipation. Advertisements. Newsletter announcements. Docents wore shirts showcasing the cover. My Ohio friend Inez volunteers at Mitford for special events, and here we were wearing the book cover shirt at the bookstore back in May. Yes, the interest level started building months before.

Be present ahead of time, and even if you can't be physically present, then offer photo opportunities for guests by having a life-sized cardboard cutout. I took this picture in the hall outside the entrance to the bookstore. People walking down the hall often mistake it for the real deal and get excited that they lucked out for her to be here. She is always here, in spirit, for sure.

Enlist the town to help with crowd control and security. The event staff erected a tent on the front lawn for the evening meal on Saturday night. Note the blue sky. One thing a book launch planning team can't control is the weather. One year ago, this was a hurricane disaster area. This year made up for it!

Create bling beyond a T-shirt. Earrings were a good seller. Limited edition plaques. And this wrist band that served as a ticket for the evening meal and served as my keepsake. 

Invite press. The CBS Sunday Morning crew interviewed Jan, several attendees from across the country, and one of our docents. Look for the feature some Sunday morning when you least expect it! Of course, local media covered it before, during, and after. Photographers were everywhere. I took this picture in the balcony of one of them taking a picture of the crowd below.

I was curious, so after he moved on, I investigated. He had spotted a reader with the book open. My version might not be as professional, but it gets the point across. These devout readers couldn't wait to dig into the book. It was a sight seen on campus all day! Which brings up another suggestion for a successful book launch, provide plenty of seating for people to read in silence or to interact with each other about the book.

Have the grand finale in a large auditorium with ample seating and great acoustics. No one wants to miss a word of what the author says to her readers. The auditorium of the school is now a huge multipurpose room, perfect for plays, concerts, and book launch speeches.

I sat in the balcony with the rest of the docents and volunteers and photographers. In her speech, Jan referenced an experience she had in the balcony as a fifth grader back in the day, and pointed up to us. We all laughed with her because we could relate. In fact, that's the beauty of the Mitford series. We are them. We see ourselves and our neighbors on the pages. They have trials and challenges. We cry at their tragedies. We rejoice with happy endings.

We hung on every word she spoke at the actual launch. She opened by thanking all of us, those who came by jet plane from the other side of the US, and those who walked here from home. Her publishing team was there all day, and she introduced them, although we had met them as the days went along. She introduced her family seated in the front section of the audience, had them stand. 

My final takeaway from this book launch - be gracious like her. Show the readers they matter and they are appreciated. Jan autographed books ahead, so she was not burdened by that distraction. I should mention that all the books for sale in Happy Endings Bookstore are personally autographed. I've seen her do it on her marathon signing days. 

At the end of her speech, she directed those who wanted to shake her hand to form a line at the side of the auditorium. She said she didn't care how long it took; she would greet everyone. She wanted to look them in the eyes and say thank you. And she meant it.

That is the bottom line of a book launch. It's the time to let the readers tell you how much you mean to them. 

It's not all about selling the book. 

Catch of the day,

Gretchen

Mountain Strong

I'm an avid reader. I practically inhale books. That being said, I'm not a big magazine reader, never have been. Yet I do subscribe to one magazine that I devour rather than inhale. It's the Our State Magazine, and unfailingly it has the most fantastic articles relating to North Carolina. I enjoy reading about places I've been. I also get ideas for new places to go and things to do. The day it arrives in the mail, I hurry through it, flipping to see what is new and exciting and enticing enough to bring me back for a long read over a cup of hot tea.

When October's issue arrived last week, I began the usual page flipping. I soon found that this issue was different. At the top of the cover is the statement, "Special Issue: Healing After Helene" and below the subtitle, "Celebrating North Carolina," in large bold print, are the words MOUNTAIN STRONG. This photo taken by my friend and co-adventurer, Sara, and reinforces how much being strong meant to recovery.

I didn't make it far into the pages before I began mentally dog-earing pages to return to and read later, but when I got to page 174, I stopped dead in my tracks. Sara's photograph was taken at the same place as the location of an article in the magazine. The title drew me in first, "River Reclaimed," and then I saw the pictures. We had been on the very same river back in July and I even blogged about it a few weeks ago. If you didn't get a chance to read it, click on the link and check it out before you read any further so you'll see why I'm so excited to share with you now.

This mountain-strong story featured one of the characters (chapter 39) in my newest book, Southern Fly Tyers. Her name is Kelly McCoy, aka Rivergirl. In my book, she wrote her own biography, and it is dripping with love of river and fly fishing and all things nature. In the magazine article, author Katie Reynolds interviewed her and masterfully captured Kelly's love of river and fly fishing and all things nature. 

Back in July my friend Sara and I went tubing on the New River through Rivergirl Fishing Company, Kelly's company. Sara took this picture of the Rivergirl main building.

See the canoe on the front porch? There's a story behind that canoe as recorded in the article. Here, look at it more closely:

This is a page from the magazine with the canoe's picture taken by staff photographer, David Uttley. I took the other picture of the front of the business the day we were there.

See the heart on the canoe? Kelly painted it there after Hurricane Helene, after she rescued the canoe from the tree that caught it in the flood. It's a reminder that's visible to her every day. Stay strong. Stay safe. You can overcome.

Just like our state!

Catch of the day,

Gretchen