In celebration of National Library Week (April 7 -13) the Northwest Regional Library System is hosting a Writers Road Show series of events featuring North Carolina author Marjorie Hudson. Hudson will speak at several events locally about her newest book “Indigo Field.”
A Midwesterner by birth, Hudson was working in Washington D.C. as features editor of National Parks Magazine writing about nature and the history of the parks. Despite the theme of her writing, Hudson said she rarely got to be outside in nature.
“That was too ironic for me because I’m a nature girl,” she said.
A trip to visit a friend in North Carolina changed Hudson’s entire career path and lead her to creative writing. She explained that a friend who was an organic farmer was looking for a new farm and she joined her on this trip to a farm house near Chapel Hill.
“It had been raining for four days but the sun came out and a rainbow formed above the farmhouse,” Hudson recalled. “I decided to give notice and move to North Carolina; so it was one of those moments in your life when you take a hard left turn and it was the best thing I ever did.”
“North Carolina and rural places have really helped me thrive, it gave me the courage, without the hustle and bustle of journalism, to pick up my pen and do creative writing,” Hudson said.
Hudson quickly embraced her new home in North Carolina and has never looked back.
“North Carolina is kind of my muse for all three of my books,” she explained.
Hudson said upon moving to North Carolina she learned about Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the ‘new world’ English colony of Roanoke.
“I had never heard of her,” Hudson said. “She was like a secret handshake.”
She said learning and researching Dare and what became of her “blew her mind.”
Hudson’s first book, “Searching for Virginia Dare” is a creative nonfiction work that explores her journey of learning of this local historical figure.
“Accidental Birds of the Carolinas,” Hudson’s second book, also features North Carolina in a series of short stories about people lost in life who find their way to the Carolinas. She said some of the characters in her latest work “Indigo Field” were first conceived in these short stories.
“Indigo Field” tells the story of a retired colonel grieving the sudden death of his wife, while nearby an elderly Black woman is grieving the murder of her niece by a white man. Between the two is an abandoned field where three centuries of crimes are hidden.
Hudson will speak at three events in the region next week, each with a unique theme as she shares portions of the book.
On Friday, April 5 Hudson will perform scenes from the book alongside musicians at the Elkin Public Library at 4:30 p.m. Hudson said she has done previous engagements with musicians in this format but it will be her first time working with a librarian musician. Librarian Jonathan Parker who is also a musician will perform at the event.
Hudson said the event will take people “on a journey through the book” and will end with a sweet sing-a-long.
On Saturday, April 6 Hudson will discuss the role that food plays in the book and in southern culture at an event hosted at Raffaldini Vineyards. She said among the foods in North Carolina that play a part in the book are Cheerwine, nabs, strawberries and pimento cheese. (This is a limited ticket event.)
The series will conclude with a book talk at the Mount Airy Public Library on Sunday, April 7 from 2 to 4 p.m.
Copies of “Indigo Field” are available at area libraries. The book is also available for sale at Pages Books & Coffee in Mount Airy. Books will be available for sale at all events as well.
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