My ninth full-length novel, These Blue Mountains, releases next week. And I can tell you that the nerves and the excitement over seeing a book in print never go away. I can also tell you that while I hope LOTS of readers buy my book, few things thrill me more than hearing that someone checked one of my books out of their local library.

I’ve loved going to the library since I knew there was such a thing.

As a kid, Mom would take us to the Upshur County Public Library that Dad helped make possible as a county commissioner. We’d go to the children’s section and could choose any books we wanted. It was heaven. Except for the part where we weren’t allowed to run wildly up and down the long ramp leading to the second floor. Ah well, even Eden had a snake.

Then there was the high school library and the college library where I thumbed through card catalogs (I know, I’m old) and did all sorts of research for papers I can’t even remember now.

Next was the sweet library in Conway, SC. It was in a historic home with a fireplace in the main room and lots of lovely windows. It’s since been moved into a shiny, new building which is great and all, but I miss the little library. In Asheville I mostly went to the satellite library not far from our house where I checked out cookbooks just to read them. There was the most wonderful tree out front, and it was a delight to park in the shade while I got distracted by all those books inside.

But, as I spent more time writing and doing my research online, my visits to the library tapered off. I bought the books I wanted to read or downloaded them on my Kindle. And who uses an actual book to do research anymore??

Then we moved to a new town where our house is super close to the library. I dutifully went and got my card, but didn’t check out even one book on that first trip. Until, one day, my husband asked me to get him a book–something with lots of drama and intrigue. I went online, added a book to my shopping cart and suddenly it hit me. I could just GO TO THE LIBRARY.

And I’ve been going every Monday since. Oh, the joy! Oh, the stillness and peace of a library. The smell of paper and ink. The crinkle of the plastic protecting the hardbacks. The murmur of voices rarely raised. The lovely librarians who know me by name.

And best of all, I can choose any books I want. Even . . . one of my own.

MEET SARAH…

Award winning author Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a farm in WV, the seventh generation of her family to do so. She is the director of Jan Karon’s Mitford museum in NC. Sarah writes historical novels set in Appalachia and West Virginia.

Visit her website here or check out her BRRC Author page to learn more…