CityView Magazine

patient with and intrigued by his side job as a "forensic his- torian", investigating decades old murders and mysteries. Simon has appeared in five books and gained a loyal follow- ing. The mysteries all take place in North Carolina from the mountains to the coast. "Simon is such a believable character. I made sure he had real things happening to him so the read- er could really connect with him," Shaber said. This includes having relationship trouble with his lady friends and living with three cats. Though the series has ended, Shaber admits that Simon is still in her head. Shaber's latest book, Louise's War, Other North Carolina takes place in Washington D.C dur- ing World War II. Louise, a recently widowed young woman, has moved to D.C. to help with the war effort by working at the Office of Strategic Services, which later evolved into the C.I.A. "It was a very scary time for everyone, and Louise is faced with being a woman gaining her in- dependence during the 1940s while trying to solve a murder," Shaber said. As in the Simon Shaw series, Shaber makes her characters very believable through the details of their daily lives. But don't fret when you finish Louise's War, Louise will be back in May; Shaber's next book in the series is, Louise's Gamble. Lee Smith has written a treasure chest of books to choose authors recommended by Shaber, Smith and Tomlin: Smith: John Claude Bernis, Ron Rash, Clyde Edgerton, Minrose Gwin and Jean Mayhew Shaber: Margaret Maron, Diane Chamberlain, Charles Todd, Katy Munger Tomlin: Jerry Bledsoe she was writing the book. "I was going through some hard times with family members being sick. While creating Ivy, I gained strength from her." The book takes Ivy through her life including childbirth, raising her children, and dying. It is hard to put the book down and hard not to be changed some by Ivy's inner strength. Smith said Fair and Tender Ladies is the perfect book to read during the cold months because "so much of it takes place in the winter." Smith's latest book, Mrs. Darcy and the Blue- Eyed Stranger is a collection of short stories filled with humor, life dilemmas and en- gaging characters. "House Tour," for instance, is full of witty conversation and observations on life. The first paragraph makes you want to know more about Lynn and her life, which Smith lets you in on by guiding you through Lynn's crazy but believable aſternoon, which includes a traffic jam because of the town's Christmas parade and a group of women who show up at her Victorian house think- ing it is part of the Christmas tour. Lynn's quirky sense of humor in these situations will make you laugh out loud. Smith's novels include On Agate Hill, which is about from for a winter's aſternoon, twelve in all, along with four collections of short stories. To read a book written by Smith is to get lost in the author's remarkable giſt for creating char- acters and spinning tales you'll never forget. Fair and Ten- der Ladies, which was written in 1988, is one of Smith's most widely-read novels. "I still get letters from readers telling me how much they enjoyed reading about Ivy," Lee said. Ivy Rowe is a woman living in the Virginia Mountains in the late 1800s. The book is a collection of letters she writes to friends and family members throughout her life. "Ivy is a strong woman, who gets so much of her strength from her writ- ing," said Smith. Ivy was even an inspiration to Smith while 50 | January/February • 2012 a young orphaned girl who lived through the Civil War and struggles to survive during the post war South, and The Last Girls, a novel, introduces readers to a group of friends who recreate a raſt trip they took down the Mississippi as college students by taking a cruise on a steamboat down the river for a 30th reunion. It doesn't matter if Smith is writing about the struggles of an orphaned girl or the reuniting of a group of friends; she has the ability to master dialect, conversation and the human nature of all her characters. Grab that blanket and pour that cup of tea. There's no grass to cut and no presents to wrap. Turn off your television and cell phone. There are too many wonderful North Carolina writers — and their characters — to get to know on a chilly winter aſternoon. Relax and let some of our state's wonderful writers take your imagination for a ride. CV

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