Author visits October 30


Thursday, October 25, 2007
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Jan Karon

Jan Karon, author of the best-selling Mitford/Father Tim series, will be doing two events in Holly Springs -- both October 30.

The first, a meet and greet and “high tea” will be from 2-4 p.m. at Annie’s Restaurant. Then at Christ Episcopal Church, from 7-9 p.m., Karon will speak and afterwards, a reception will be held in the parish hall. A non-perishable food item or a children’s book is the price of admission, by request of Jan Karon.

There will be pre-signed bookplates at each event and Barnes and Noble will be present selling books at both events that day. Karon doesn’t personally sign books anymore, due to a wrist injury -- she pre-signs bookplates which the events are receiving this week. Karon does do a receiving line at each of her events, so fans will be able to meet her during that portion of the event.

Karon has visited in Holly Springs before, researching for her new book, “Home To Holly Springs, A Father Tim Novel,” the first in a new series from Karon.

Jan Karon’s novels abound in the wonder of small-town life, compelling readers to return again and again to read about her engaging characters. Booksellers and reviewers alike have raved about Jan Karon’s Mitford novels since the first, “At Home in Mitford,” was published in 1996. Now with 30 million copies of her books in print, Jan Karon is launching a new series, the Father Tim Novels, beginning with “Home To Holly Springs,” (Viking; Strict on-sale date: October 30, 2007; price: $26.95; Pages: 368).

“Home To Holly Springs” opens with Father Tim at home in Mitford. It has been nearly four decades since the last time he was in his home state of Mississippi, but he recently received an anonymous note from his hometown with the simple words “Come home.”

As Jan says, sometimes a trip back home becomes a journey of the soul. This is certainly the case for Father Tim as he returns to Holly Springs and learns of long-buried family secrets, secrets that force him to understand, and forgive, his long-deceased parents, who died many years earlier.

Father Tim’s wife, Cynthia, is stuck at home with a broken ankle and unable to make the trip, so Barnabas, their dog, is enlisted to accompany him. Their first stop in Holly Springs is to Father Tim’s favorite childhood lunch spot, Tyson Drugs. Though modernized, Tyson Drugs is still the place he remembers and loves. And it is here where Father Tim meets just a few of the unforgettable and eccentric characters Jan Karon is known for creating.

In “Home To Holly Springs” readers will learn about Father Tim’s relationship with his father, his parents’ relationship to each other, why Father Tim left his home of Holly Springs, and who drew him back. “Home To Holly Springs” will galvanize readers, whether old or new, as they learn secrets that will change Father Tim’s life forever.

Jan Karon’s Mitford books include At Home in Mitford; A Light in the Window; These High, Green Hills; Out to Canaan; A New Song; A Common Life: The Wedding Story; In This Mountain; Shepherd’s Abiding; Light from Heaven, The Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader and The Mitford Bedside Companion. Born Janice Meredith Wilson in 1937, Jan Karon was raised on a farm in Lenoir, North Carolina.

The fourth Mitford novel, A New Song, won both the Christy and Gold Medallion awards for outstanding contemporary fiction in 2000. A Common Life, In This Mountain, and Shepherd’s Abiding have also won Gold Medallion awards.

Out to Canaan was the first Mitford novel to hit the New York Times bestseller list; all the subsequent novels have debuted on the New York Times list, reaching as high as the #1 spot. Karon re-located from her home in Blowing Rock to a nationally registered, 18th-century farmhouse in Virginia.

She has also published two Christmas-themed books based on the Mitford series, The Mitford Snowmen and Esther’s Gift. Other Mitford books include Patches of Godlight: Father Tim’s Favorite Quotes, a compilation of Father Tim’s favorite sayings, and A Continual Feast: Words of Comfort and Celebration, Collected by Father Tim.

In addition, Karon has written children’s books, Miss Fannie’s Hat, Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny, Violet Comes to Stay and Violet Goes to the Country, as well as an inspirational book for all ages, The Trellis and the Seed.

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