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Martha Perritti is public library’s featured author May 6 in “Meet the Author” series
LAWRENCE COUNTY--Making
her first stop on an Alabama book tour, Martha Perritti will be appearing at an
upcoming special “Meet the Author” series. Sponsored by the Friends of the
Lawrence County Public Library, the group features Perritti and her widely
acclaimed historical novel,
Standing against the Wind.
Perritti, a “favorite daughter” from Alabama, was born in the valley of the Caddo Mountains. Her latest novel centers around her family, with major portions of the book’s setting right here in our own backyard.
Mark your calendar to meet Perritti on May 6, 2004 during the afternoon from 2:00pm till 5:00pm. Perritti will have her collection of books to sign, as well as the newly released, Standing against the Wind. This latest novel precedes the historical outline Perritti follows in her earlier autobiographical sketches. Her first novel, centered around the life of her father who lived to be 101, is titled Crossing in the Rain.
Perritti’s schedule
Perritti will be appearing at several other locations and events during her book tour. The following is a list of her upcoming stops:
May 6--Book signing--2:00pm till 5:00pm.
Friends of the
Lawrence County Public Library,
401
College Street, Moulton, Alabama.
Contact Miranda Ball at 256/974-0883.
May 7--Book signing--5:00pm till 7:00pm
Courtland
Library, 215 College Street, Courtland, Alabama.
Contact Pat
Osborne at 637-8458 or 566-0611.
May 11--Book signing--1:30-3:30pm
Lawrence County
Archives, 698 Main St., Moulton, Alabama.
Contact
256/974-1757. A research site for Standing against the Wind.)
May 13-16-- Book signing each day--
Oakville Indian Festival.
10:00am till noon
and from 1:00 till 3:00pm during the festival at Oakville
Indian Mounds
Park, Oakville, Alabama. Museum contact--
256/905-2494. (A
research site for Standing against the Wind.)
About the novel
Standing against the Wind is an interesting and revealing story about three Cherokee women--all of whom were Perritti’s great grandmothers. It was at age 60 that Perritti discovered her Cherokee heritage, thus her factual-based story begins in the Cumberland Gap and follows the path her Cherokee family unfolds for her. We travel through early Native Americans living peacefully in the Carolina mountains, to the treacherous Trail of Tears, the Civil War and to the final removal of Native Americans from Martha’s family homestead in the Caddo Mountains of northern Alabama.
Standing against the Wind (Lifestyles Press) took three years to research and write. Part of
the research involved Perritti traveling the actual trail in each of the states where her great grandmothers traveled and lived.
Perritti writes in longhand, with very little rewrite--a natural gift she has learned to accept and allow to flow. Perritti’s unique novel form provides outlined historical summaries along the way to place the reader in the historical framework of the story.
Her latest novel, featured recently at the London Book Fair, has been compared to Cold Mountain. It was chosen as a book club selection on Greg Screw’s Book Club on the ABC affiliate WAAYTV. Recommended highly by Screw, he said, “It’s a remarkable story….the Trail of Tears….popular story for people here in north Alabama about the Cherokee nation and what they had to do…the trials and heartbreaks. If you like history, if you like stories about the Cherokee nation, the Trail of Tears, then you’ll like this…. [Standing against the Wind].”
Perritti was also a recent guest interview with public radio/NPR’s news host, Amy Tardif.
For Tardif, this story was an interesting read, filled with real versus accepted facts about the Cherokee, their customs and experiences in America. You can listen online to the interview, which aired on public radio in March 2004. Just click on www.wgcu.org. See the radio column. Click on News, then WGCU news archives. Select “Pine Island Author” and hear the interview about Standing against the Wind with Amy Tardif.
Standing against the Wind is available on Amazon.com and on Perritti’s website, Marthalouperritti.com. For speaking engagements in Alabama, contact Donna Turner . For media inquiries, contact publicist Lynda Long.