A Reading Celebration

By the time you read this, I should be en route to Irvine, KY or on the scene of an intriguing book signing experience. It’s a mystery how I came to be invited, located as I am some 250 miles away in Nashville, TN. I suspect someone involved must have stopped by my table at the Kentucky Book Fair last November.

The woman who sent my invitation, wife of the school superintendent, wrote “mysteries are my favorite.” She said we’d love the location. It’s on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, next to the Daniel Boone National Forest, where “the mountains kiss the bluegrass.”

The Friday night event is billed as the Estill County Reading Celebration. It takes place at the Estill Springs Elementary School and features an ambitious program, including a tent behind the school where an Appalachian storyteller will hold forth and a past Kentucky Poet Laureate will perform poetry skits with students.

Various rooms in the school will be decorated with ideas from children’s books. Students will choose which rooms to visit during 20-minute periods.

Several authors have been invited to sign their books in “Author’s Row” from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. Among them are children’s authors, a weaver, a few poets, a novelist who writes about Kentucky’s Shaker communities of the past, and one mystery writer, me.

Irvine is a small town in a small county, but the organizers assure me the event has been extensively publicized and should draw a good crowd. The local newspapers have highlighted each author with a bio and book description. Large posters of our book covers have been made to display at the tables. The opening ceremony will feature Mrs. Jane Beshear, the First Lady of Kentucky.

Since the town has only one small motel, my wife and I have been invited to stay at the home of Tom and Francine Bonny. He’s the retired superintendent of schools.

I have no idea how this will turn out, but being the good Scout I am, I’ll be prepared. My trunk is loaded with all five of my mystery books. Regardless of the outcome, I’m sure we’ll meet lots of nice people with interesting stories to tell. I may even have a few to pass along myself.

Chester Campbell
www.chesterdcampbell.com
Mystery Mania blog