Charles Dodd White reads from his new book at City Lights Bookstore on Oct. 20, 2018. Photo by Jake Burks.
Charles Dodd White visited Sylva’s City Lights Bookstore on Oct. 20 to read excerpts and sign copies of his latest novel In the House of Wilderness.
White graduated from WCU in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and currently teaches English at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the month following the Sept. 10 release of “In the House of Wilderness” White has been touring the Appalachian region on a book tour at various small venues and bookstores.
The event held at City Lights was small, with only four guests and an occasional visit from the bookstore’s resident cat, Cedric. The lack of attendance was expected by White.
“I never get a good turnout from Sylva,” White said.
This small crowd did little to dampen the mood as the event turned to an intimate discussion of the details and influences that White included from the surrounding area in his novel.
Eon Alden, the manager and events coordinator for the bookstore, had not yet read the novel, but said that the book had many qualities of a William Faulkner novel. This topic was discussed between the two men for a large portion of the event.
Since his first full length novel was published in 2010, White has had two additional novels published. All of his novels are set in the South and are heavily inspired by local areas.
“My latest novel features some inspiration from the Sylva area, but not as much as my other pieces. This book is set in real locations, while most of my other work is set in the fictional area of Sanction County, which I based almost entirely on Jackson County,” White explained.
White has his sights set high on future works and is currently waiting on approval from the Ohio University Press about a new unnamed novel.
“I’ve got mixed feelings about this next one, balancing a book tour, teaching, and seeing my family is a big challenge” said White.
White will continue on with his book tour until Nov. 1 with his next stop at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville on Oct. 26.
