Bookbeat: Givens to host local novelists

By Darrell Laurant

Published: September 6, 2008

Givens Books seems to be swimming against the prevailing tide. At a point when a lot of the big box bookstores are cutting back on author signings, Givens seems to be expanding them.

“I did get a signing at one of the Borders in southern Maryland,” said Lynchburg novelist Kenya Lumpkin, “but the person at another Borders store told me, ‘We don’t do signings because the writers look so sad sitting there by themselves.’

“I told her I’d bring my family.”

Solitude won’t be a problem for Lumpkin, author of “Quenching the Fire,” this Saturday. Givens has invited eight authors from 1-3 p.m, billing it as an “Author Extravaganza.”

“There are so many people who want to do signings,” said Danny Givens. “We’re thinking of having more of these.”

Besides Lumpkin, participants will include Thomas Turner (“Blood on the Badge”), Doyle Gentry (“Happiness for Dummies”), David Fortuna and Evelyn Burnett (“You Betcha, Baby”), Carolyn Feagans (“There Is A Season”), children’s author Nicole Green (“The Adventures of Bug and Roofus: Clean Your Room, Roofus”), Lynchburg poet Frank Craddock (“Day Avenue,” “Suffering Iraq”) and Hugh Fulcher (“Bi-Polar Blessings and Mind Expansion”).

The assortment couldn’t be wider. Turner is a suspense/action writer, Feagans — owner of a loyal local following for her warm, lyrical glimpses into the lives of fictional Virginia families) — a novelist of a quieter style. For Gentry, a recently retired Lynchburg counselor, “Happiness for Dummies” is a follow-up to his successful “Anger Management for Dummies.”

“I thought I needed something lighter after that,” he said.

Fortuna collaborated with the late Evelyn Burnett, widow of the remarkable Vincent “Squeek” Burnett on Squeek’s life story. The Campbell County native gained fame as a stunt pilot (he once graced a Life Magazine cover flying upside down) and a pilot instructor during World War II. He was a man of great courage and human flaws, and Evelyn saw both sides of him without losing her sense of humor.

Hugh Fulcher, meanwhile, looks at bi-polar disorder from the unique viewpoint of a physicist. He believes that certain mind exercises can help those suffering from this disorder — and, according to Danny Givens, “brings it down to a layman’s level.”

Kenya Lumpkin has marketed her first novel everywhere from Baltimore to Hawaii to Lynchburg, where she and husband James and children Leilanbi and Makalo moved last year. It is, she reluctantly admits, a “romance novel,” but she’d like to think it escapes from the usual bonds of that genre.

“The first publisher I found developed multiple sclerosis and had to give up the project,” Lumpkin said, “but then I discovered that the son of my church pastor had a publishing company (Leeway Artisans). We talked, and it clicked.”

The book is really three tales in one — a trio of love stories that travel down very different paths — and Lumpkin took care to leave some loose ends hanging.

“I’ve got a three-book contract,” she said with a smile.

Book signings were hard for her, “because I’m basically a shy person. It’s hard to sell myself, but I learned very quickly that I had no choice. With a book signing, you can make that personal connection.”

On Sept. 13 at Givens, there should be personal connections all over the place.
Book Beat is an occasional column that appears in the Books section. If you have information about local books, authors or signings, contact Laurant at or (434) 385-5544.