By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
The literary landscape in Northern Kentucky these days appears both lush and diverse, and this week we’ll look at a few of its authors who make it so with their recent books.
Kathryn “Kathy” Witt’s love of Kentucky shines again, this time in 100 Things to Do in Kentucky Before You Die. Burlington resident Witt, author of eight books, shares her choices for experiencing a wide variety of memorable activities all across the Bluegrass, encompassing such areas as history, the spirits industry, music and entertainment, sports, shopping and fashion, and there’s even an “oddities” category.
“This book is for lifelong Kentuckians who want to rediscover their home with fresh eyes, for newcomers seeking those authentic ‘only here’ moments and for any traveler craving the new and different,” said Kathy. “It’s for families, adventure seekers, history buffs, bourbon lovers—really anyone who believes that exploring a place should feel like opening a treasure chest.”
Kathy counts her bona fides as winning awards for travel and lifestyle writing and is a syndicated crime and travel columnist. One of her eight books, includes, in 2024, the popular Perfect Day Kentucky: Day Trips, Weekend Getaways, and Other Escapes.
There’s a family connection to Denise Derya Brandt’s debut novel, Istanbul Dreaming. Denise, a Turkish American living in Melbourne, Kentucky, bases her book on her parent’s own love story.
Readers discover early that there’s political and cultural unrest in the country of Turkey in the late 1950s, and a 17-year-old woman named Ayten tries to find her way amidst the turmoil. And besides the stress of a possible takedown of the government, Ayten dreams of becoming a truly modern woman, one who makes her own life decisions rather than have them made by her family, and particularly her father.
Ayten finds that her aspirations are not easily doable, especially after she decides to extend herself with a trip to the big city life of Istanbul against her father’s wishes. To help curtail his daughter’s independent ways, the father arranges a marriage for her with a man who is his employee. Intimidated, Ayten reluctantly participates in the religious ceremony, though it is not bound by law. Not a willing partner in the first place, she experiences a difficult wedding night and decides to abandon the marriage and leave again for Istanbul.
Trying to rebuild her life with the help of friends, there are obstacles. One is the complexity of a new, possibly romantic, relationship after she meets an American airman. Decisions await, and none are easy. The author skillfully supplies rising tension as the story unfolds.
Denise has led life-saving women’s health projects in impoverished areas such as Afghanistan, Liberia, and Myanmar. She lived in Istanbul after graduate school and worked for an English-language business school.
In Newport-based author Sheila Williams newest, Daughters of the Wind, she “makes her first foray into the mythical fantasy genre with this epic tale of family bonds that is a call to action wrapped in elemental magic.” She calls her book a “mythical eco-fantasy.”
Aeola St. James seems to have plenty to do with her duties as CEO of her own company and being a mother. But she has a secret extra burden. She is Keeper of the Winds, and has amazing power, if executed correctly, to neutralize global warming—a great concern of hers. To harness her powers, she needs the help of her daughters as she travels through time to “every epoch and corner of the globe” to gather them together for the mission.
Meanwhile, Wills Holloway, a tech billionaire, has a plan to solve the global warming problem by launching a cooling compound into the stratosphere. His sense of altruism is tainted by his desire to make it profitable for him and the fact that he desires a hostile takeover of Aeola’s company. With the help of her strong wit and abilities of her daughters, she must push back on his threat.
Sheila has published eight novels, and her Dancing on the Edge of the Roof was adapted for the Netflix film Juanita. Daughters of the Wind is set for release in December.
Associate professor in the Department of English at NKU, Gary Walton, has published seven books of poetry, and his latest is his seventeen-poem collection, Anonymous America. In the title poem, “In Sweet Anonymous America,” Gary characterizes the often shallowness of our existence, where we “receive our values from video” and use “screens fixed to a recurring algorithmic feedback loop,” and we try to ignore the family (even if it is our own).
His selection, “Preparing for Winter” bemuses the fact that he is slowing down as he gets older, and with “In the New Season,” Gary laments the bloody violence of war and terrorism, asking “Is it any wonder that our kids Spend their days with Instagram and Candy Crush? Anything to avoid the Horror film on Mom and dad’s Video screens.”
Looking back to 2009, Gary published a comic novel called Prince of Sin City, which is set in Newport during the days of rampant illegal gambling.
Just out, The Kentucky Book Fair (1982-2015): Carl West’s Vision and Legacy, tells of the former Kentucky Post and Scripps Howard reporter’s quest to establish what has become an iconic institution highlighting literacy in our state. I have a contribution in the book talking about Carl and my relationship being raised in the Grant’s Lick area of Northern Kentucky. Hope you’ll give it a look.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of seven books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and six in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #5,” was released in 2019. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly NKyTribune columnist, and a former member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.”