From Gumbo Flats to Main Street, Troy: A Hometown Book Launch
There’s something wonderfully full-circle about packing up a box or two of books, pointing the car west, and heading back to my hometown. In my case, that town is Troy, Kansas, and on Saturday, February 21, I’m going home for the first official launch event for my latest novel, The Ghosts of Gumbo Flats.
And now it’s official. The news release has been sent, the details are out in the world, and there’s no turning back. Once you hit “send” on something like that, you’re committed. Look out, hometown, friends and family, here I come.
I’m excited (and honestly a little anxious) to have this hometown event. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve spoken in front of some decent-sized crowds, but this one gives me a few butterflies. It’s important to me because this little town will always be my foundation.
I’d like to express much gratitude to the team at CJ’s On The Square and their collaborative spirit. In keeping with the title of my new book, gumbo will be on the menu. You can’t call a book The Ghosts of Gumbo Flats and not serve gumbo. I’m fairly certain that’s a rule somewhere. Add in food and drink specials, and suddenly this “author event” starts sounding suspiciously like a really good Saturday afternoon.
From 1 to 3 p.m., I’ll be reading a bit from the new book, signing copies, and, I am hopeful, catching up with a few folks I have known forever, and maybe a few I haven’t met. Some might have already read my first book, Jawbone Holler. Well, The Ghosts of Gumbo Flats is a standalone sequel to Jawbone Holler. Both of those books are anchored in northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri during the Civil War era. They’re both fiction novels with a light dusting of history, and a lot of heart borrowed from the region where I grew up. The era is different, but the soul of the place is the same, and driving back to Troy to share it feels right.
The folks at CJ’s have been incredibly generous in hosting the event, and I love their vision of the restaurant as a hub for good food, good conversation, and community connection. That’s exactly the vibe I’m hoping for. This event will be less “formal book launch,” and more “pull up a chair and stay awhile.”
All three of my novels—Jawbone Holler, West Bottoms, and The Ghosts of Gumbo Flats—will be available. Mostly, though, I’m just looking forward to being home, telling stories, and sharing an afternoon with people who know this place as well as I do.
The date is on the calendar, the word is out, and the road back to Troy is calling. If you’re in or around town that afternoon, I’d love to see you. Come for the books, stay for the conversation and consider this your fair warning: I’ll be bringing a few books.
