Kim Michele Richardson--GodPretty in the Tobacco Field

Last night I attended an author event at Carmichael's featuring Kentucky native, Kim Michele Richardson. Her latest novel is entitled GodPretty in the Tobacco Field. She described it as a cross between Winter’sBone and Coal Miner’s Daughter. It takes place in a poor town in eastern Kentucky in 1969. Richardson said when she was writing it she couldn’t come up with a name for her fictional town, so she wrote Nameless and planned to go back and change it later. She forgot to change it, however, and her publisher loved the idea of keeping Nameless because the town is so poor it can’t even afford a name.

The main character, RubyLyn is a teenager who likes to make fortune tellers. A fortune teller (also called a cootie catcher) is a form of origami used in children's games. Parts of the fortune teller are labelled with colors or numbers that serve as options for a player to choose from, and on the inside are eight flaps, each concealing a message. Richardson and her husband gave a fortune teller to each of us in the audience.

The paper it was made from had the map of Nameless on it. Richardson’s husband drew the picture for her because she was writing several books at one time and needed a way to keep her settings straight. It was not meant to be put in the book, but again her publisher loved it and it made it into the book. Richardson had us open the fortune teller and look for a particular symbol on the map. Well, I was the lucky one with the symbol and won a bottle of Dandelion Wine.  

Richardson talked about how she did hours of research for her book. Specifically, she researched the type of candy eaten during the time period and the types of flora and fauna that grow in eastern Kentucky. Richardson and her husband even planted six tobacco plants on their land so she would know what tobacco picking is like.

It was a fun event which included wine tasting, cake eating, and a giveaway. Richardson herself has a cheerful disposition and quirky personality. I am very much looking forward to reading and reviewing her book.

You can follow Kim Michele Richardson on twitter @writernwaiting