Penelope J. Stokes
http://www.penelopejstokes.com
It's often been debated whether a person's destiny lies in
genetics or environment, but either way, I seemed ordained
to be a fiction writer. A Baby Boomer with an English
teacher and a social worker for parents, I grew up being
challenged to develop my imagination, to seek out for myself
the meaning and significance of life. I learned early both
the power and mystery of stories and the importance of
people—their dreams, their hopes, their longings,
their struggles.
From the age of four, when I first learned to read and
discovered that words are magical, I always dreamed of being
a writer. The fulfillment of that dream, however, was a long
time in coming. Ten years of university study, culminating
in a Ph.D. in Renaissance Literature, led me to a career as
a college professor teaching writing and literature. I
enjoyed teaching, particularly the connection with students,
but after twelve years in the classroom, I knew it was time
to turn my energy toward my life's passion—writing
fiction.
Raised and educated in Mississippi, I left the South shortly
after graduate school and spent fourteen years in Minnesota,
teaching and editing and beginning my writing career. I did
a bit of wandering—Georgia, Connecticut, back to
Mississippi for a while—but it didn't take me long to
realize that my soul's home could only be one place:
Asheville, North Carolina, a small city in the heart of the
Blue Ridge Mountains.
Being a southern writer is, in many ways, bred in the blood
and the bone. Place is very important to me—not just
the physical environment of my home and office and the
vistas I take in on a daily basis, but that "sense of
place," the internal compass that keeps drawing me back to
where I belong, to the connections that nourish my soul.
Because in the long run, fiction is about people. Not just
about what happens to them, but about what happens in
them—the spiritual, emotional, and psychological
passages that lead people to an understanding of their inner
selves, and of one another. I write about the heart, the
mind, the soul. I want to write novels that combine
authenticity of character with profound spiritual
dimension—books that are original, imaginative, and
intrinsically true to life. I want to draw readers in,
allowing them to perceive a different kind of
world—one marked by purpose, significance, and most
importantly, hope.
Readers often ask me about the difficult questions I raise
in my fiction. I raise those questions because I grapple
with them in my daily life. According to Socrates, the
unexamined life is not worth living; I suppose I've taken
that truth to heart, because I've never been content to
accept the easy answers. I believe that ultimately, our
character is determined not so much by the certainties we
cling to, but by the uncertainties we are courageous enough
to face. When we're committed to going deeper, to following
the unknown path, our journey can lead us to an
understanding of our own inner being, to a connection with a
power that is both within us and beyond us. And that
understanding, that connection, gives meaning and purpose to
our days.
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Books
Heartbreak Cafe
August 4, 2009
A touching novel full of Southern comfort for fans of
Joshilyn Jackson and Fannie Flagg.
Dell Haley's mama always told her there were two things a
man couldn't get enough of: good cookin' Read more...
Circle Of Grace
June 15, 2004
When tragedy occurs, four friends come together in a
bittersweet reunion and are forced to confront the
falsehoods and also embrace the truth in their lives.
On college graduation day, Grace and her Read more...
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