photo by Regina Grayson

From left: Crenshaw County authors Lillian H. Rice, Sue McDougald Watson, and Joshua A. Sipper discussed their novels and the different aspects of writing and publishing at the Luverne Public Library on Feb. 27.

Local authors hold book discussion

By Regina Grayson (Contact) | Greenville Advocate

Published Friday, March 19, 2010

Writers’ words often come from their very souls, and that was the general consensus among area writers Joshua A. Sipper, Sue McDougald Watson, and Lillian H. Rice as they gathered at the Luverne Public Library for a local authors’ discussion and book signing.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, several people gathered to hear how these locals felt about their writing experiences.

Sipper, who has published “Runaway Swimmer,” said that writing was the “fulfillment of a dream” for him.

“My family has always told stories,” he said. “History was the guiding force behind all of this—family is really the heart of my novel.”

Sipper admitted that he “broke down and cried” when he finally finished his novel.

“It was such an awesome feeling when I finished,” he said.

Watson agreed.

“I was so emotionally involved with my fictional family that I was sad when I finished because I missed them; they were such an integral part of my life,” Watson, who has published “Jane Ellen’s Path”, said.

Watson also explained how she began writing for a much different reason.

“This was a project of escape for me,” she said. “My mom had Alzheimer’s, and writing was a way for me to escape to a world without Alzheimer’s.”

Rice, who is 92 years young, started her manuscript as just an essay about living at Lake Haven Assisted Living Facility. The manuscript is titled “Holes? What Holes?”

“My friends dragged me kicking and screaming to use a computer,” she said, laughing.

According to Rice, her story is purely fictional, even though the setting is based in Miami, where she and her husband were stationed during World War II.

“There’s only one murder in my story,” Rice, who is already writing her second piece, said, laughing.

Both Watson and Sipper’s novels can be purchased at www.amazon.com and at 61 on Main in downtown Luverne. They are also available to be checked out at the Luverne and Brantley Public Libraries.

The Feb. 27 Authors’ Book Signing/Discussion was part of the “Big Read: Alabama Reads” program, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts.

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