Author Sheri Reynolds, best known for her novel "The Rapture of Canaan," which was chosen as an Oprah Book Club novel and became a New York Times best seller, will be reading from her newest novel, the hilarious and wise "Homespun Wisdom of Myrtle T. Cribb," from 7 to 8:15 p.m., Friday, Jan. 11, at Bethany Blues in Lewes. Reynolds will also be discussing the joys and difficulties of life after Oprah, the changing publishing world and other writing-related issues.
Reynolds, whom the New York Times described as a wonderful storyteller, was a frequent participant at the Writers at the Beach: Pure Sea Glass writing conferences held in Rehoboth from 2005-10. Her workshops were among the first to sell out and her readings were packed, with loud peals of laughter echoing from the room whenever she read her poignant, funny, often bittersweet fiction. The author of five previous novels and an award-winning play, Reynolds’s sixth novel, "The Homespun Wisdom of Myrtle T. Cribb," is one she first read in Rehoboth in 2010, still in draft stage, and is a work people are still talking about.
It is because of her strong connection to Rehoboth that Reynolds is giving this reading, which will also be somewhat of a conversation with the audience about the hardest part of being a writer, how to deal with rejection and what kept her motivated when too many of her books couldn’t find a publisher and ended, as she says, “under the bed.”
"Sheri has had the kind of success that so many of us dream of," says Maribeth Fisher, executive director of the Rehoboth Beach Writers' Guild, which is hosting this event. “But Sheri’s also had huge struggles in this changing publishing world to even find an agent, and she never gave up. People love her because she is this wonderful combination of being both very realistic and abundantly hopeful. And hopeful not just for herself, but for all writers who really want to make a go of it. Plus, she’s funny. Really funny.“
The event is free, but a $5 donation is suggested and RSVPs are necessary to ensure there is adequate seating. To RSVP, email contactus@rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.
This event and all RBWG programs are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information go to www.rehobothbeachwritersguild.com.
