Star Line Books debuts Sybil Baker’s newest novel
Professional writer and UTC English professor Sybil Baker has penned quite a few novels, both fiction and nonfiction, and short stories during her career, but her stories haven’t always been set in Chattanooga.
“My first three books take place mostly in Asia and in the DC area because I grew up in Fairfax, Virginia and lived in South Korea for twelve years,” says Sybil. “I only started writing about Chattanooga about five years after living here.”
Setting a story in Chattanooga came about after she received a MakeWork grant to write about Chattanooga’s unheard voices which became the nonfiction work “Immigration Essays”, and through that research found that she was itching to write about Chattanooga in her fiction and nonfiction.
Sybil’s latest novel, “While You Were Gone”, is set in Chattanooga and will be officially launched on Friday at 6:30 at Star Line Books. Her second work to be launched from Star Line, the first being the previously mentioned “Immigration Essays,” Sybil is incredibly thankful and humbled to work so closely with such an important pillar in Chattanooga's literary community.
“I love reading and buying books at Star Line,” says Sybil. “And even if people can’t make my launch, I hope they will support the bookstore by stopping by and buying a book.”
In stopping by the launch you’ll learn firsthand what came together to inspire “While You Were Gone”, a story born of inspiration from Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” that turned into a tale of three sisters who have lost their mother at an early age and now must deal with the grief affecting their life choices.
It’s a story in which we can all relate to the general theme, but may also find ourselves reflected in one of the three main characters, sisters Paige, Shannon, and Claire. Living in a ‘new South,’ the girls believe they are “unburdened by their past, and open-minded about issues like race, class, and sexual orientation.” As their stories continue, each character finds the family’s past does haunt them and they may not be as open-minded as they thought.
To come to grips with the lives they’re trying to lead in the ‘new South,’ each character is forced to confront her unexamined attitudes towards a multitude of issues. For Shannon, this means agreeing to be a mother to a child with a gay couple, while Claire must take a hard look at her feelings about race.
The beauty of our local bookstore hosting this launch means face to face time with the author as well as the opportunity to hear from the perspective of the author herself, all in a community of literary lovers. Come experience what is sure to be an incredibly fun and informative book launch for one of Chattanooga’s most celebrated writers.
Book Launch for Sybil Baker
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Star Line Books
1467 Market St.
(423) 777-5629
starlinebooks.com