All-Island Book Reading for Lopez Author's Novel

On this island of avid readers, one book is creating more stir than the bestseller of the day--and it hasn't even been published yet.

Lopez readers have been passing around dog-eared copies of a manuscript titled A Sudden Country, the first novel by Lopez writer Karen Fisher. The book will be published August 16th by Random House.

In addition to reading at least parts of the draft, many of Fisher's fellow islanders heard her read passages from the novel at a public reading. Now, they've taken up the banner and are doing what they can to make sure word gets out even before the novel is published, starting here at home.

In an all-island book reading dreamed up by the Lopez Writers Guild, islanders will be able to check out and read galleys of A Sudden Country from their local libraries. Each island library will have 15 numbered copies; patrons will be encouraged to read and turn the books in as quickly as possible.

This summer, Fisher will attend book-club-style public gatherings to answer questions and discuss the process of writing and publishing.

Before moving to Lopez Island in 1997, Fisher and her husband David were Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers, raising and selling organic vegetables directly to their customers.

That connection between grower and consumer, and the support and encouragement she's received, inspired Fisher to coin the phrase "Community Supported Author" to describe her relationship with her island neighbors during the process of writing and rewriting the novel.

"Suddenly, what seemed for many years like a strange and lonely obsession feels more like a team sport," she said.

Fisher's editor at Random House is also enthusiastic about the homegrown publicity campaign.

The Lopez Writers Guild (LWG) hopes that readers will order copies of the book from their local independent booksellers, e-mail their relatives and friends about it, and generally create a buzz. If enough demand arises elsewhere in the country, more advance copies will be made available this summer.

Fisher said she's living in "a very weird world" in these months leading up to the novel's release. Last week, she was interviewed for an article in Publishers' Weekly, and was also notified that Random House will publish a large-print edition of A Sudden Country. At the same time, daily life means continuing to write while dealing with mortgage payments and the needs of three kids.

Ten years in the writing, whatever success A Sudden Country finds will not be all that sudden. Crisp and solid and timeless as stone, the novel is based partly on a few pages of memories written down by Fisher's great-great-great-grandmother, an Oregon Trail pioneer. Read more about it at: www.asuddencountry.com

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