On the surface, the books listed below cannot possibly be thought of as similar to each other. They don’t have a genre, character type, or setting in common. Only one similarity ties these titles together: their authors. Natives to North Carolina, these authors all have roots in our home state, and yet have taken completely different paths to success. Read on to learn more about these authors and their riveting books.
Nyxia by Scott Reignten
Scott Reignten began his career as an English and Creative Writing teacher in North Carolina, striving to encourage emerging writers. He specializes in fantasy and science fiction, especially those involving dragons. His book Nyxia falls under the science fiction genre, taking place almost exclusively in space. Following Emmet Atwater, a teenage boy from a poor neighborhood and newest recruit for the Earth’s most powerful cooperation, Babel, this book details the search for the most valuable resource in the known universe: Nyxia. Babel has kept this resource to themselves, and mines it from a planet populated by humanoid creatures that only they know about. Filled with intricate world designs, a diverse cast of characters, and enough plot twists to make your head spin, Nyxia keeps a fast pace throughout the book and series that keeps readers engaged and intrigued.
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Sheila Turnage, author, poet, and journalist, grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern Carolina, where she now lives with her husband. She graduated from ECU with a B.A. in anthropology, and has since published pieces in Southern Living, American Heritage, the International Poetry Review, and wrote the book Three Times Lucky. The novel even won a Newbery Honor award. Creating a genre of its own, Three Times Lucky poses as a murder mystery geared towards young teenagers. Main character and orphan Mo LoBeau lives in a small town in North Carolina with her guardians, Miss Lana and the Colonel. One fateful day, a police officer comes into town looking for clues about a murder. He expresses interest in the Colonel’s story, causing Mo and her friend Dale to begin an investigation of their own, sweeping them into a world of deception and mystery.
Whatever Stasis by Chris Tonelli
Chris Tonelli works in the libraries at NC State University as the external communications director. He also co-owns a bookstore in downtown Raleigh and founded the poetry press Birds, LLC as an editor. Tonelli has published two books, as well as other smaller works of literature. Whatever Stasis could be described as a collection of poems and abstract thoughts. Published in 2018, the collection ponders beauty and its attainability, all while using meditation and humor to teeter on the border of cynicism. Though not an easy read, Whatever Stasis establishes a deeper meaning to the word thought, and invites the reader to explore the author’s mind with him.
In no way can these books themselves be lumped together into a genre or category, which could be why the similarity of the author’s origins seems so surprising. That the pathways of these three authors all began or landed in North Carolina while being so radically different just demonstrates the unpredictable nature of life. And while it may seem cliche, maybe these books can be a symbol of a truth once spoken by Terence McKenna: “The imagination is the golden pathway to everywhere.”
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