Sequels & Sagas May 2, 2010

Topic of the Week: May 3-7, 2010

Kathryn Magendie

Anne Lamott’s recent Imperfect Birds has done it. John Updike did it with all of his Rabbit novels. Jan Karon’s Mitford and Father Tim novels are nearing the dozen mark. Great books are like visits with old friends, when they end we want more. This week in #litchat we’ll discuss sagas and sequels, characters beloved or despised, and why readers love them so much.

Joining us as guest host on Friday, May 7, is Kathryn Magendie. Author of the Graces saga, a coming of awareness series set in the hollers of West Virginia and the mossy landscapes of Louisiana.

Like in all good southern fiction,  Magendie’s protagonist, Virginia Kate Carey speaks with a voice raw with emotion, brittle with pain and sharp with insight. The first of the series, Tender Graces introduces Virginia Kate and her dysfunctional family, while Secret Graces, the second book in the three-book series, follows her through heartbreaks and settlements beyond childhood. A third book is planned for the series.

Kathryn Magendie is a writer, editor, and Co-Editor/Publisher of The Rose & Thorn, an esteemed literary ezine. Bio from her website reflects her literary voice with southern aplomb: “She was born a West-by-god Virginia Hillbilly (and proud of it), moved here, there, and yonder, was stuck in the swamps of South Louisiana for many years, and one fine morning she left behind her moss-filled grandfather oak trees in South Louisiana and floated off to Home in a tucked-in cove in Maggie Valley, Western North Carolina, where she spins tales, drinks Deep Creek Blend coffee, an occasional vodka tonic with lime, and contemplates the glow of Old Moon. The bold and ancient Smoky Mountains will cradle her until her end.”

Follow Kathryn Magendie on Twitter at @KatMagendie.