ANN PATCHETT IN PERSON...

Okay -- I should have written this post sooner!  Ann Patchett was a delight.  She did the entire program by herself -- first informing us that we didn't need to take any notes because the writers/books she would talk about, we could find listed on her website. annpatchett.com  She owns a bookstore at the Nashville airport and has the opportunity to read/meet many authors.  She also receives requests to travel to various locations to interview them.  Thus she has formed many wonderful relationships -- she related such entertaining stories of Alan Alda, Tom Hanks, Kate DiCamillo, among others.

She also shared the difficulties of writing The Dutch House without telling the story.  With a contract to produce a book for a September 2019 launch, she encountered many obstacles.  During that time she became somewhat obsessed with writing children's books that germinated from mishearing the word landslide to writing a children's book about lambs sliding!  Needless to say, she kept us entertained!

Then the next week I had the opportunity to hear Phyllis Root.  Her most recent children's book The Lost Forest, illustrated by Betsy Bowen, relates the amazing story of the lost forty, a pine forest allowed to grow untouched for nearly 100 years.  Although it is a children's book, it contains detailed sketches and information about the history of this area and the life of surveyors. https://phyllisiroot.com/