Biography

Ashton Lee was born into a large Southern family that gave him much fodder for his fiction later in life. Under the pen name of R. Keene Lee, his father wrote and edited pulp fiction. Lee majored in English at The University of the South, affectionately known as Sewanee. While there, he studied creative writing under Andrew Lytle, then editor of the Sewanee Review, and a member of the Southern Agrarians in the 1920s.

Schedule

Noon to 1 p.m.
State Capitol, Senate Committee Room A
Discussion
Small Town Dramas: Conniving, Comeuppance, and Cake

1:15 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Barnes & Noble Bookselling Tent
Book Signing

A Cherry Cola Christmas

Christmas is coming to the small town of Cherico, Mississippi, and there’s no better way to prepare than with the Cherry Cola Book Club’s feast of good food, good books—and good people…

Cherico’s newlywed librarian Maura Beth Mayhew is back from her honeymoon and she and Jeremy McShay are settling into married life. Maura Beth’s father has even given them the down payment on a charming cottage. But as the holidays approach, Cherico’s economy is struggling. Beloved local shops have closed, jobs have been lost, and there’s even a mysterious crime spree afoot. Amid the gloom, Maura Beth decides what the community needs is a healthy dose of Christmas cheer—which means a special meeting of the Cherry Cola Book Club...

Along with the delicious potluck offerings everyone has come to expect, Maura Beth has invited members and the public to share their most uplifting stories—and share they do. From poignant stories of grief and renewal to joyful stories of love and new life, Cherico’s residents infuse the gathering with so much hope and courage they just might inspire a culprit’s confession, and conjure a holiday miracle that could save the town—and Christmas…

“The challenges of keeping any library anywhere open and effectively serving its patrons is a problem facing most communities. Lee brings these salient topics to light in an unpredictably entertaining series.” --Booklist

“If Fannie Flagg and Jan Karon’s Mitford were to come together, the end result might very well be Cherico, Mississippi.” --Michael Morris, author of Man in the Blue Moon

“A Cherry Cola Christmas is filled with the quirky, funny and charming characters we’ve grown to love and whose poignant tales become the true blessings of Christmas. This book belongs under every tree this season.” --Christa Allan

"An intrepid librarian, a book club feast, and a cozy, heart-warming Mississippi mystery-- what's not to love?" --Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet