Fiction Addiction

1175 Woods Crossing Rd. #5
Greenville, SC 29607
864-675-0540
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Store Hours:
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www.fiction-addiction.comApril 15, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Jill Hendrix
Fiction Addiction
864-675-0540
[email protected]
http://www.fiction-addiction.com 

 

Join Us for Coffee and Cake with SC Author John Warley

  

 

Greenville, SC, April 15th, 2014 - SC novelist John Warley will be speaking about his new book, A Southern Girl (Story River Books, hardcover, $29.95, on sale 5/18/14) and the current state of international adoption at a free event at The International Center of the Upstate at 2:00pm on Tuesday, May 20th. Coffee and cake will be served and Fiction Addiction will have books for sale at the event. To reserve a copy of the book or to RSVP for the event, please contact Fiction Addiction at 864-675-0540 or [email protected]. A Southern Girl is a Spring 2014 Okra pick.

  

A Southern Girl Set against the exquisite, historical backdrop of Charleston's insular South of Broad neighborhood, A Southern Girl is a tale of international adoption and of families lost, then found anew through revelations, courage, and the perseverance of a love without bounds. With two biological sons and a promising career, Coleman Carter seems set to fulfill his promise as a resourceful trial lawyer, devoted husband, and dutiful father until his wife Elizabeth champions their adoption of a Korean orphan. This seemingly altruistic mission estranges Coleman's conservative parents and demands that he now embrace the unknown as fully as he has always entrenched himself in the familiar.

 

Elizabeth is eager for the adoption, while Coleman, a scion of the Old South, is at best a reluctant participant. But the arrival of Soo Yun (later called Allie) into the Carter household, and the challenging reactions of Coleman's peers and parents, awaken in him a broadening sense of responsibility and dedication to his new family which opens his eyes to the subtle racism and exclusionary activities that had dominated his sheltered life. To garner Allie's entrance into Charleston society, Coleman must come to terms with his past and guide Allie toward finding her own origins as the Carters forge a new family identity and confront generations-old fears inherent in southern traditions of purity and prestige. 

 

Deftly told through the distinctive voices of Allie's birth mother, her orphanage nurse, her adoptive mother Elizabeth, and finally Coleman himself, A Southern Girl brings us deeply into Allie's plights -- first for her very survival and then for her sense of identity, belonging, and love in her new and not always welcoming culture. In this truly international tale, John Warley guides us through the enclaves of southern privilege in New Hampton, Virginia, and Charleston, the poverty-stricken back alleys of Seoul, South Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, and the stone sidewalks of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, as the bonds between father and daughter become strong enough to confront the trials of their pasts and present alike.

 

A Southern Girl is the first book from the new South Carolina-based original fiction imprint, Story River Books, published by the University of South Carolina Press and edited by Pat Conroy. It contains a foreword by Therese Fowler, author of the popular and acclaimed Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald.

 

If you can't make the event but would like us to get a book signed for you, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 864-675-0540. Personalized copies will need to be prepaid.

 

About International Adoptions:  

A Southern Girl's subject is extremely timely in light of the current crisis with the reduction of international adoptions. John and his deceased wife Barbara adopted a South Korean daughter 35 years ago, and he is alarmed by the current situation of children languishing in foster care or institutions and the nearly 60% reduction in Americans adopting internationally. "Had the sheer inefficiency of today's broken system been in place in 1978, it is safe to say my very American daughter would be speaking Korean," John says. While the Warleys' cost for adoption was less than $2000, and they received their daughter as an infant, current costs are $25,000-$30,000 and adoption takes years with many unplanned delays. "By then, a child has been institutionalized for 7 or 8 years, and the parents have to be prepared for all kinds of challenges an infant would not have," according to John.

Allie's immersion into American life in A Southern Girl, while filled with trials, proves cultural obstacles can be overcome and differences can open our eyes more clearly to our human commonalities. "While no one denies a perfect solution would be for orphans to stay in their native country, the truth is the shortage of loving, nurturing families to adopt in native countries puts these children at a far greater risk that growing up in a different culture," John says. 

 

Advance praise for A Southern Girl:
"John Warley's marvelous novel A Southern Girl is the best book I've ever read about Charleston's mysterious and glittering high society. Its affirmation of the enduring power of parental love vying against that enigmatic realm is reverential and stunningly original, as stylish as a novel by John Irving and as tightly written as one by John Grisham. I wish I'd written this book."-Pat Conroy

"A stunning achievement, A Southern Girl is a beautifully written, heartfelt account of a father's love for an adopted daughter and his struggles in helping her find her own identify in an elite yet conflicted society. This triumphant story belongs to anyone who has ever loved, grieved, questioned, rejoiced, despaired, and risked it all for the strongest bond of all, that glorious, undefinable unit we call family."
-Cassandra King, bestselling author of five novels including Moonrise

"A Southern Girl is rich with trustworthy and vulnerable narrators who allow us the privilege of entering the secret traditions and lore-soaked South as well as the clandestine corners of the character's souls. This is a gorgeous, heartfelt book from a masterful storyteller; I didn't want to miss a word of Warley's whispered secrets."-Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of And Then I Found You, Coming Up for Air, and others

"John Warley's novel takes us on a fascinating and emotional journey that proves to be a richly rewarding story of life and family. It's simply unforgettable."-Dorothea Benton Frank, New York Times bestselling author of ten novels

"Forget what you know about the South. John Warley serves up a unique perspective and challenges perceptions of the southern belle. A powerhouse of emotion, A Southern Girl explores the depths of parental love and the lengths to which it will go. Warley's words are fresh and urgent and beg you to keep reading."-Nicole Seitz, author of A Hundred Years of Happiness and Beyond Molasses Creek 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Warley , a native South Carolinian, is a graduate of the Citadel and the University of Virginia School of Law. He practiced law in Virginia until 1993 when he moved to Mexico to write and teach. Now a full-time writer, Warley divides his time between Beaufort, South Carolina, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. His previous books include Bethesda's Child and The Moralist. He and his late wife Barbara have three sons, Caldwell, Nelson, and Carter, born in Newport News, Virginia, and a daughter, MaryBeth, born in Seoul, South Korea.




ABOUT STORY RIVER BOOKS
Named for a small river that runs along Fripp Island that Conroy swan in as a teen, Story River Books will brand and expand USC Press's commitment to publishing top-notch regional fiction under Conroy's editorship. Open to original novels and short story collections, the imprint will emphasize an inclusive representation of Palmetto State writers by race, gender, and geography. While the books may diverge greatly in style and themes, they will collectively present new perspectives on the dynamic, complex, and oft-contested past and present of a recognizable South Carolina for readers both within and beyond the Palmetto State.

   

 

ABOUT FICTION ADDICTION

Fiction Addiction is a local, woman-owned, independent bookstore established in 2001. The store carries a mixture of new and used fiction and nonfiction, including children's books, as well as gift items. We have recently moved to a new location at 1175 Woods Crossing Road (in the shopping center with Five Guys and Fried Green Tomatoes). For more information, visit our website at http://www.fiction-addiction.com or call us at 864-675-0540.

  

  

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