Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Man is Clay

Smith Henderson’s haunting debut novel introduces a troubled Montana social worker and his mission to rescue children from peril—including his own

July 8, 2014 With Fourth of July Creek, Smith Henderson has delivered a novel of enormous range and emotional intensity. One of the most buzzed-about debuts of the season, the book introduces Pete Snow, a troubled social worker in rural Montana, and Benjamin Pearl, a boy raised in the wilderness by his paranoid-survivalist father, Jeremiah. Henderson will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on July 17, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.

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The Way We Never Were

Patti Callahan Henry’s new novel portrays a family in crisis

July 3, 2014 In her latest novel, The Stories We Tell, Patti Callahan Henry offers a protagonist who has it all: a busy social life, a gorgeous house, a beautiful daughter, and a fulfilling career. But when her husband and sister are involved in a car accident and different stories emerge, she must search out the truth, no matter the cost. On July 11, 2014, Patti Callahan Henry will discuss The Stories We Tell at Union Avenue Books in Knoxville at noon and at Parnassus Books in Nashville at 5:30 p.m.

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Chase Me Out of the Dark

In A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain, Adrianne Harun’s characters move between the real world and the supernatural

June 30, 2014 Adrianne Harun is on the faculty of the Sewanee School of Letters, which convenes June 8 to July 18 at The University of the South. Her debut novel, A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain, is an unflinching tale of poverty colored with a trace of magical realism.

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In Mysterious Ways

Lin Stepp’s new novel offers a story of Christian faith and romance in the Smoky Mountains

June 25, 2014 Middle-aged Grace Conley shakes up her life and her family when she suddenly decides to buy a bed-and-breakfast in East Tennessee. In Lin Stepp’s sixth Smoky Mountain novel, Down By the River, Grace learns to follow her own dreams while discovering a reinvigorated religious faith and perhaps even romance. Lin Stepp will appear at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on June 28, 2014, at 1 p.m.

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Straight, No Chaser

Jon Sealy’s debut novel, The Whiskey Baron, satisfies with both flash and impact

June 19, 2014 Jon Sealy’s debut novel is an impressive tale of country noir set against the backdrop of Prohibition. Sealy will discuss The Whiskey Baron at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on June 23, 2014, at 6 p.m.

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Rewired for Love

Now out in paperback, Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project is an exuberant romantic comedy

June 17, 2014 In The Rosie Project by Australian novelist Graeme Simsion, Don Tillman launches a campaign to find a wife. A genetics professor who’s never been in love, Don prepares an exhaustive questionnaire designed to exclude all women who offend his sense of logic. Then he meets the chaotic Rosie Jarman. Simsion will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 22, 2014, at 2 p.m.

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