On Friday, May 8th at 6:30 p.m. Faustine Wilson, daughter of the late Victoria Casey McDonald, will present Victoria’s last novel at City Lights Bookstore. Living in the Shadow of Slavery continues the story of her great grandmother, Amanda, whose story began in the novel, Under the Lights of Darkness.  As a slave of William Holland Thomas, Amanda faces uncertain times now that the Civil War has ended and all slaves have been declared free. Having never known freedom, she and her family must make difficult decisions on how best to survive in this new existence.

Faustine will also discuss a bit of the history of slavery in western North Carolina and the legacy of Victoria.

Faustine Wilson is the owner of Survival Pride Clothing in downtown Sylva. Her mother, Victoria, was a preacher, teacher, storyteller and historian. She was the author of four books.

It will be a night of lying at City Lights Bookstore on Saturday, May 9th at 6:30 p.m. as Kim Michele Richardson and Jamie Mason will present their novels in a joint reading.

Richardson’s new novel, Liar’s Bench is set in Kentucky, where Richardson lives. It is the summer of 1972 and Mudas Summers is on a quest to find the truth in a town that keeps its secrets all too well. Running through the tale of two Kentucky hangings more than a hundred years apart is the story of Muddy and Bobby finding each other and themselves while forced to grow up fast in a time and place where the KKK is still a power, the South is struggling to find itself, and teens are caught between old and new ways of growing up.

Mondays’ Lie by Asheville author, Jamie Mason, is a new thriller about a woman who digs into her unconventional past to confirm what she suspects: her husband isn't what she thought he was. Using spy techniques gleaned from her deceased mother, a former covert operative, Dee Aldrich discovers the truth about the man who she thought was the safe choice.  NYT bestseller, Tana French says, “Dotted with moments of black comedy and pulsing with an undercurrent of sadness.”

The Cherokee Indian Hospital Foundation is proud to present its sixth annual Foundation Gala on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort.

This year’s theme is “Hard Hats & High Heels.” Tickets begin at $125 per person with special sponsorship opportunities available. All proceeds will directly benefit the new Cherokee Indian Hospital, which will expand many much-needed services, including the dental clinic, emergency room, complementary medicine, and others.
This special evening will feature entertainment, dancing, and a Wine Pull. Our Silent Auction offers a wide variety of desirable items, including the arts and crafts of the Cherokee people.

On Saturday, May 2nd at 3 p.m. Seamus McGraw will present his book on climate change at City Lights Bookstore. “Betting the Farm on a Drought looks at the issue through the eyes of people who are not ideologically, politically or in some cases even religiously predisposed to believe in man-made climate change, but who are dealing with it nonetheless,” says McGraw. During his travels across the country, McGraw collects the stories of farmers, fisherman, ranchers and sportsmen and assembles their various perspectives. What he finds is that a middle-of-the-road approach may be the only path to a sustainable energy future.

Seamus McGraw is a full-time writer who has seen his work published in Playboy, Reader's Digest, Penthouse, Radar, Spin, and The Forward. He has received the Freedom of Information Award from the Associated Press Managing Editors, as well as honors from the Casey Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists. He has also written The End of Country, Dispatches from the Frack Zone. He grew up pitching hay and spreading manure on the same fields the gas companies are now prospecting. He still lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and four children.

Sapphire author, Edward Fahey will present his third novel on Friday, May 22nd at 6:30 p.m.  The Gardens of Ailana explores the metaphysical, the idea that there are places on this planet not confined to the logic of men or limitations of science. In this modern-day fictional tale, four people with very different backgrounds, each scarred by a horrific childhood, meet at a place of healing where one's most crippling darkness must be faced down. In the rubble of their lives and broken spirits they learn that in their weaknesses lie their most profound strengths. In their festering wounds they find hope. In The Gardens of Ailana we see through the souls of mystics, experience laying-on-of-hands from the healer's point of view. Feel at home among wonders and magic. Fahey says of The Gardens of Ailana, “This is the book others have been laying the groundwork for and building towards.” Novelist and teacher, Fahey spent his life hunting magic, seeking out the other sides of reality. His previous novels are Mourning After and Entertaining Naked People. To reserve any of his books please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499.

Sylva poet, Kirk Thomas will read from his new poetry collection on Saturday, May 23rd at 6:30 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore. Miscellaneous Musings and Other Odd Thoughts: The Desert Poems are poems inspired by his time in the Saudi Arabian desert when he worked as a military contractor. Before that, Thomas had served for many years in the U.S. Army Special Forces. He and is wife moved to a house between Sylva and Franklin in 2011. In addition to his poetry, he has written a number of essays and prose pieces and has, on occasion, rendered some of them into verse. These days he spends his time reading, writing, splitting firewood, and sitting out on his front porch with a glass of wine listening to the creek run by. To reserve copies of Miscellaneous Musings and Other Odd Thoughts please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499.