Bestselling author Lisa Wingate will be in Alton, Ill. on Sept. 28 to promote her new novel, The Story Keeper. The Story Keeper (Sept. 1, Tyndale House Publishers) tells the story of New York editor Jen Gibbs. Jen has just moved from the mountains for the city when an anonymous manuscript lands on her desk. Automatically hooked, Jen reads the story of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped in the Appalachian mountains by dangerous men at the turn of the century. The mystery behind the manuscript sends Jen back to the place she thought she was finished with.

EVENT DETAILS
When: Sunday, Sept. 28 2-4PM
What: Afternoon tea and book talk with Lisa Wingate, bestselling author of The Story Keeper. The events will include books for purchase and signing.

Where: Abundant Life Community Church, 3986 Humbert Road in Alton, Ill.
Tickets: $5 in advance or 7 at the door. Proceeds will help fund the church’s Panama mission trip working with the Gnobe Indians.

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Adding to an inspirational collection of stories, bestselling author Lisa Wingate is back with a new book that takes readers on an enchanting journey through the Appalachian Mountains and seamlessly melds the past with the present.

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But first up this July is The Tidewater Sisters, a novella written as a bridge between The Story Keeper and Wingate’s 2013 acclaimed release The Prayer Box. 

“Ideal for anyone who enjoys books by master storytellers such as Adriana Trigiani or Karen White,” raves Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. “The Story Keeper is an inspirational tale about a complex heroine who has managed to survive by navigating around her scars. Set in the captivating world of rural Appalachia, the mountains play a powerful role in this lyrical tale that transports readers across time through a magical and beautiful journey.” Southern booksellers agree the Blue Ridge Mountains setting is just as much a part of The Story Keeper, as well as the personalities of Wingate’s creatively crafted characters. FoxTale Book Shoppe’s Karen Schwettman said she can’t wait to share the book and “generations of the Appalachian women you’ll meet in these stories” with her customers.

Through powerful storytelling and haunting imagery, Wingate weaves a deeply emotional tale that USA Today bestselling author Colleen Coble says has “remarkable depth and power.” “Not since To Kill a Mockingbird has a story impacted me like this,” Coble adds. “You will want to read it and reread it, then pass it along to everyone you know.” Wingate is an award-winning author, magazine columnist and speaker. She has found success in Christian and mainstream markets with more than 20 fiction novels under her belt.

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