Parker to sign copies of "Trespassers Talking"
Laurie Parker recently released her fourth adult novel, "Trespassers Talking," and will sign copies from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Book Mart & Cafe, 120 E. Main Street.
The 448 page book is hardbound with a dust jacket and retails for $28.
The novel starts off with rookie sports reporter Rainer Landrou returning to his hometown of Natchez to work at its local newspaper.
"He gets a crash course in life," Parker said, laughing. "There's a lot of things that happen to him."
In the novel, Rainer has to deal with moving back in with his father, picking up a second job, a long distance relationship and learning the ropes as a professional journalist.
She considers herself as a "southern" writer, drawing her inspirations from people and events that she's experienced in her own life. She doesn't consider her work to be "chick-lit."
"Chick lit seems to be a little bit lighter, and my books have some depth," Parker said. "I'm a word geek. Writing novels is a way for me to exercise my vocabulary. If I wasn't self published, I would probably have an editor take some of it out."
Parker has previously published children's novels, beginning with 1996's "Everywhere in Mississippi." Beginning in 2013, she began writing fiction and self publishing her work, starting with "The Matchstick Cross."
Rainer Landrou isn't the first main male character that she's written. He second novel "Yonder Breaks the Morning" featured two main male characters. She said that "Trespassers Talking" does feature some portions about sports and hopes that men will find this book as a worthwhile read.
Right now, Parker isn't working on a new book. She will begin working full time on her next effort sometime in December or January.
"The book is written typically from January to June," Parker said. "After that I have a month to edit it and tweak it. Then I send it to print. Then I spend my fall promoting it."
Parker was born in Bruce, but her family moved to Starkville before she turned one. She is a Starkville High School and Mississippi State University graduate.
For more information, visit Parker's website, www2.netdoor.com/~lauriep/writer/ about