On the eve of the launch of her 14th book, Beach House Memories, the prequel to her bestselling novel, The Beach House, we want to share a little about Mary Alice that you may not know...
Mary Alice Monroe found her true calling in environmental fiction when she moved to coastal South Carolina. Already a successful author, she was captivated by the beauty and fragility of her new home. Her experiences living in the midst of a habitat that was quickly changing gave her a strong and important focus for her books.
The writer of richly textured books that delve into the complexities of interpersonal relationships and the parallels between life and the land, Monroe's novels are published worldwide. She has achieved many "author" lists including the New York Times, USA Today and SIBA. She has also received numerous awards, including several Readers' Choice Awards, the RT Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2008 South Carolina Center for the Book Award for Writing and was featured at the National Festival of the Book.
In 2011, The Butterfly's Daughter, which Azalea readers had the opportunity to preview in Mary Alice's first-ever column for us, won the International Book Award for Green Fiction.
An active conservationist, she serves on the Board of the South Carolina Aquarium, The Leatherback Trust and Charleston Literacy Volunteers and lives with her family on one of our neighboring barrier islands.
With that said, we want to invite you, our readers, to attend a special book signing event for Mary Alice's newest book, Beach House Memories, at the historic Timrod Library on Wednesday, May 9 at 6:30 pm. She will do a short reading, speak about the writing process, answer questions and sign copies of her latest novel. For more information and to R.S.V.P., contact the Timrod at (843) 871-4600.
And don't forget to look for Mary Alice's newest column in the summer edition of Azalea Mag!
