TALLAHASSEE-- Local author, Martha Perritti — recent resident of Tallahassee — will be signing her newest book, Standing against the Wind, on December 10 at Tattered Pages Books & Espresso Bar in Crawfordville and on December 17 at the Turtle Island Trading Post in Tallahassee. Mark your calendar and plan to attend one of these book signings:

December 10—Tattered Pages Books & Espresso Bar
10am till 2pm
2807 Crawfordville Hwy
Crawfordville, Florida
850-926-6055

December 17—Turtle Island Trading Post
10am till 2pm
1707 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida
850-425-2490

Standing against the Wind is Perritti’s second historical novel. Her first novel, Crossing in the Rain, is the story of her father, who lived to be 101. In the research process, Perritti discovered her father had several families, unbeknownst to each of the families. Perritti also learned that she had 13 siblings instead of the nine brothers and sisters from her family. Crossing in the Rain will be included in her book signings as well.

In addition to her two novels, Perritti has also authored two cookbooks. Cooking Our Way (Morris Press) and Martha Lou’s Kitchen (Morris Press). The second cookbook includes comfort food recipes and tried and true favorites from family and friends. A new edition of Martha Lou’s Kitchen is in the works, since the book is nearing sell out.

Perritti’s newest novel, Standing against the Wind, is about her mother’s side of the family. She started out intending to write about her mother but soon found out there was more to that story, too. It was at the age of 60 that Perritti discovered that three of her grandmothers were full blooded Cherokee Indian. Her Cherokee heritage had been held a secret to protect her and her siblings from the cruelty of discrimination in a quick-to-judge society.

Perritti’s book about her mother would be placed on hold and the next novel would begin with the story of her first Cherokee ancestor — her great, great, great grandmother, a Cherokee Indian from the Cumberland Gap in North Carolina. Her novel takes the reader through her three Cherokee grandmothers’ experiences: The Trail of Tears, the Civil War, and removal from homes and lands.

When preparing for the novel, Perritti traveled to the historical sites of her early Cherokee ancestors. Her research route followed her family from the early 1800s through the Civil War to the birth of her mother in northern Alabama. After three years, Perritti’s historical epic, Standing against the Wind (Lifestyles Press) was completed. An impressive novel that has been compared to Cold Mountain, it’s a story that will educate most readers on the richness of the Cherokee culture — as well as inform them of the tragic reverberations of the “Indian Removal Program.”

Recently, Perritti’s novel was selected to show at the London Book Fair. It was the cover of the book that helped make that happen. A tin type of her Cherokee great-grandmother Rhoda is featured in the background of the cover.

Standing against the Wind is available on Amazon.com and on Perritti’s website, Marthalouperritti.com. It is also available at these stores in north Florida and south Georgia: Tattered Pages Books & Expresso Bar, 2807 Crawfordville Hwy, Crawfordville, Florida; Book and Art Tearoom, 118 Municipal Ave, Sopchoppy, Florida; The Book Shelf, 319 Jackson St., Thomasville, Georgia; and Pebble Hill Plantation, Hwy 319, P.O. Box 830, Thomasville, Georgia.