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for love of
🍁
O C T O B E R
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Hello, friend!
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OH, OCTOBER. Glorious October, when we exhale, when we breathe. When we acknowledge the circle: the beauty and significance of impermanence. The reminder to grab the brass ring and go. To notice, and give thanks.
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I've felt all of these things in these first days of October, which comes mighty easily when you are lucky enough to have a surround that is painted in warm, harmonious colors, when you awake each morning to find they've only deepened. Richer russets. More glorious golds. And on, and on, and you smile and sigh and snap photo after photo, knowing this, too, is fleeting, this gorgeous turn to autumn. For soon—all to soon—it will be winter. Winter, which brings its own array of gifts and treasures.
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How I hope your Fall is being ushered in on wonderfully crisp air and that your sky is that stunning only-in-October blue!
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October, for me, is a whirlwind of book events, book club gatherings, book joy! This weekend I'm heading to my hometown of Wise, Virginia for the annual (and dearly beloved) Wise County Famous Fall Fling! (Picture Stars Hollow but transfer to the Appalachian Mountains and you'll get the idea.) Scarecrows, hay, music, dancing, baking contests, spaghetti dinners, firetruck rides. It's a week-long celebration but over the weekend Main Street shuts down and both sides are filled with booths featuring anything imaginable and much that is wonderfully handmade. Plus good heavens, the food! (I'm particularly looking forward to the Kettle Corn, popped and swirled before your very eyes in a gigantic copper bowl.) As part of the Fall Fling, Sunday afternoon (October 12) at 3pm I'm having an author talk in the Charles W. Harris Gallery at the Lonesome Pine Regional Library in Wise, where I'll be in conversation with poet and author Rita Sims Quillen. We're expecting a great crowd, and readings from That Which Binds Us will be performed by drama students from Central High School. Plus we'll be surrounded by the gallery exhibit The Work of Women, featuring photographs, paintings and textiles created by women of the area! The event is free and seat reservations are not required.
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Next up, on Thursday, October 16, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, SC! I've always adored Hub City and this is going to be a special one as in addition to book talk, we're gonna talk book cover design. First, I'll be in conversation with my dear friend (and former journalist) Sally Jeter Gregg. Then Sarah Tignor, director of The Johnson Collection gallery will offer a brief lecture on Robert Duncanson, the 19th century artist who painted the painting that is featured on the cover of That Which Binds Us! (He is fascinating; I can't wait to learn more!) She'll be followed by Ryon Edwards, design director at Riggs Partners who, in collaboration with Turner Publishing, designed the cover for my novel. It is so interesting to hear details about Ryon's design considerations! This event is also free but Hub City asks that you do reserve seats. You can do so at this link.
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For my friends in central and Upstate South Carolina, there's a fabulous private event planned for Sunday afternoon, October 26, at a gorgeous historic home in Greenwood, SC. This one is also free; if you live in the area and are interested in coming, email me for details!
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On another book note, I've had a blast meeting with book clubs around the country! I absolutely love book club gatherings because we dish deep, talking specifics about characters, plot, location (as well as dissecting fact vs fiction since this is a historical fiction novel) in way we can't do when the audience includes folks who don't want spoilers. If you're in a book club, or you have friends who might be interested, reach out! I'll be delighted to attend in person if I can make that work. Otherwise, we've had a blast every time I've joined a club via Zoom. Just let me know!
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How grateful I am to you, my dear Daily Grace community. As we stroll through this beautiful month and hear the crescendo to an even busier holiday season, I hope your heart is filled with every joy this gorgeous month can bring. You deserve every good thing.
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Ft. Hill Presbyterian Book Club and Friends, Clemson, SC
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Johnson's Literary Depot, Johnson City, TN
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ISS Corp Book Club, Seneca, SC
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Barnyard Book Club and Friends, Jonesborough, TN
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image: Pandagolik/Getty Images via NPR
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Great question! And I, um, love this dive into the answer. From NPR.
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I'm so happy to be hearing from Brene Brown again, and this six-part series with Adam Grant is going to be fantastic. I've only listened to the first episode and I want to remember EVERY. SINGLE. THING. They are so smart, and every time I'm exposed to any message from either of them, I feel I have been changed for the better.
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The Homemade God, by Rachel Joyce
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Rachel Joyce is one of my favorite writers, so needless to say I was thrilled to get my hands on her new novel. And how about this gorgeous cover? While it's not my very most favorite of hers, it is one I really enjoyed. I mean, a dysfunctional family? A crazy artist father? A crumbling Italian villa? On the water? I say yes!!!
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There is a heatwave across Europe, and four siblings have gathered at their family’s lake house to seek answers about their father, a famous artist, who recently remarried a much younger woman and decamped to Italy to finish his long-awaited masterpiece.
Now he is dead. And there is no sign of his final painting.
As the siblings try to piece together what happened, they spend the summer in a state of lawlessness: living under the same roof for the first time in decades, forced to confront the buried wounds they incurred as his children, and waiting for answers. Though they have always been close, the things they learn that summer—about themselves—and their father—will drive them apart before they can truly understand his legacy. Meanwhile, their stepmother’s enigmatic presence looms over the house. Is she the force that will finally destroy the family for good?
Wonderfully atmospheric, at heart this is a novel about the bonds of siblinghood—what happens when they splinter, and what it might take to reconnect them.
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A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst
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I read this one on audio and I have to say given all the buzz, it didn't quite meet my (very high) expectations. I also have to say I then listened to the NY Times Book Review Podcast about A Marriage at Sea and it changed my mind. I agree it is a powerful study in many things, including the dynamics of a marriage and the power of hope in believing another day will come.
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Heartwood, by Amity Gaige
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Also an audiobook read. I enjoyed it; I wish it had been 20% shorter; I wish the voice talent had pronounced "Appalachia" the way Appalachians do.
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Happy Land, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
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So far, really, really good! Enjoying on audio.
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Y'all. This salad is RIDICULOUS. I recently made it for the first time and every bite was a celebration. If you're coming to my house for a meal over the next five months you'll most certainly be served this Harvest Salad and you will definitely want seconds, even if it's Thanksgiving and you are already stuffed. Trust me. It's that good.
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most recent post on THE DAILY GRACE
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(C)heers to the Unexpected!
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My debut novel has been out in the world for more than three months now, and what a fun summer I've had visiting book stores and book groups and book clubs all around the Southeast. It's been a time filled with gratitude and wonder and surprise, none more than the awe I felt just this morning in the inky dark, pre-dawn hours on this old Blue Ridge mountain. Even better? The experience was due, in part, to an observation made by my character, Elizabeth Young.
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Cats Mountain, 10.9.25, 5:31pm
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NOW AVAILABLE
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