Submitted by Lopez Bookshop

From the time she was a little girl, Kate McDermott loved to bake.

“Some of these first attempts were disasters,” Kate writes on her website, artofthepie.com, “but many turned out to be pretty good and kept me interested in baking.”

Eventually, pie became McDermott’s passion, and lots of experimentation with flours and fats, ratios and recipes led to her new book, “Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life.”

McDermott will share some of her pie wisdom at an author event at Lopez Bookshop on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. Anyone who buys a copy of the book will be eligible to win pies (from McDermott’s recipes) made by Stephanie Smith of Holly B’s Bakery.

A decade ago, McDermott began a two-year exploration of pie. She developed more than a dozen crusts — including vegan and gluten-free options — and in her book she gives detailed instructions for making, rolling, and baking them. Pies need filling, too, and McDermott details fillings ranging from the classics to exotic flavors like gooseberry and chai and savories such as Italian nettle sausage and big clam.

While “Art of the Pie” is the definitive pie cookbook, it also offers an approach to life — a meditation on simplicity, joy and calm. Greg Patent, a James Beard-winning author, claims that McDermott’s book “…will make you want to spend your waking life baking pies. Her book will become your lifelong friend.”

This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit lopezbookshop.com.