In the past months of shut-downs, cancellations and isolation, the Wonderful Book Club of the Middlesex County Woman’s Club has managed to shift to Zoom meetings, ably arranged by Hazel Laughton, and when the weather was comfortable, to combine outside-distanced Zoom meetings from the spacious porch of Southern Sighs Inn. While reduced in size, the meetings have been fun and allowed the members who can attend to both see and talk to each other.
The book club meets online via Zoom at 10 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Its members said they feel grateful that they are able to continue the camaraderie and discussions of their meetings even though they have to provide their own refreshments and sometimes can’t figure out their audio and video!
The group’s next meeting is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19. It will feature a discussion of the book “White Rose, Black Forest,” by Eoin Dempsey. February’s book is “Book of Lost Friends,” by Lisa Wingate.
To find out how to participate using Zoom, email the Middlesex County Woman’s Club’s Vera England, the organizer, at vaengland@verizon.net. Her phone number is 804-758-2721.
Tuesday, Dec. 15, the club had the privilege of hosting the author of December’s book selection, “The Hideaway.” Club member Nancy Gainer contacted Lauren K. Denton after reading on her website that she loved to speak to book groups. Denton described her genre as “Southern Fiction.” Denton’s “The Hideaway” portrays the small-town atmosphere, rural setting, and interesting characters typical of a small Southern town, not unlike Urbanna, as they face questions about the choices they must make in their lives.
The biography on her web page describes Denton: Born and raised in Mobile, Ala., Denton now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, faith, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent.
On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books. She published her first novel, “The Hideaway” in 2017, which is now a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Her second novel, “Hurricane Season,” was listed on BookPage’s 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction. World magazine stated that her third novel “Glory Road” “exudes so much Southern charm that the scent of magnolias practically wafts from the pages.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly states her latest novel, “The Summer House,” is “a moving story about the friendship of two women.”
They thanked Denton for joining them and giving them insight into the writing process.
