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New York Times, Los Angeles Times and USA Today bestselling author, Kim Michele Richardson, is a multiple-award winning author who has written five works of historical fiction, and a bestselling memoir. Kim Michele was born and raised in Kentucky and lives there with her family and beloved dogs. She is also the founder of Shy Rabbit, a writers residency and scholarship implemented for low-income writers.
Kim Michele Richardson's website
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What drew you to the stories of the Pack Horse librarians and the blue-skinned people of Kentucky?
Years ago, I stumbled across these heroic librarians of the Great Depression and the rare blue-skinned Kentuckians, and I couldn't stop thinking about them. I wanted to embrace their strengths and uniqueness in story. There was such rich, magnificent history in the two, I was surprised I hadn't seen them in a novel, that neither had been given a footprint in literary history. I knew it was time for the wider world to experience them in a novel, to learn about, to see, the glorious Kentucky female Pack Horse librarians and the precious blue-skinned mountain folk.
Your novel is deeply rooted in the history of Appalachia. What research did you do to bring this time period to life?
Research is my favorite part of the writing process. I spent thousands of hours exploring everything from fauna to flora to folklore to food, as well as longtime traditions indigenous to Appalachia. I'm also able to live in that landscape and spend time with native Appalachians who have taught me the lyrics and language of their people and ancestors. Other research took me to coal-mining towns and their history, visiting doctors, speaking ...
I have lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. It means to me now only that place where the books are ...
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