As part of the College of Southern Marylands Spring Connections Series, novelist Amy Stolls will read from her latest novel, beginning at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 22, at the Prince Frederick Campus, Flagship Building, Room 119.
The Ninth Wife is the story of Bess Gray, a 35-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, D.C. Just as Bess is about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love. However, Rory is a man with a secret: he has been married eight times before. In light of this news, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer. She sets out on a cross-country journey to seek out and question the wives who came before and what she discovers about her own past is far more than she bargained for.
Stolls is the author of two novels including The Ninth Wife and Palms to the Ground, which was published in 2005 to critical acclaim and a Parents Choice Gold Award. She spent years as a journalist covering the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska before she received a master of fine arts in creative writing from American University. Currently, she is the literature program officer for the National Endowment for the Arts, where she has worked since 1998, collaborating with thousands of writers, translators, editors, booksellers, publishers, educators and presenters nationwide to keep literature a vital part of American society. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two young sons.
The Connections Series features award-winning contemporary writers, poets and artists who share their work with Southern Maryland residents.
Tickets are $3 advanced sale through the CSM box office and $3 at the door with a student ID. General admission at the door is $5. For information on Connections, study guides and author links visit www.csmd.edu/Connections/readings.html. Books featured are available at any CSM College Store or online at www.csmd.edu/CollegeStore.