Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Mignon F. Ballard

Mignon Franklin Ballard, an accomplished mystery writer, lives in Calhoun, Georgia.

She is the author of several acclaimed mysteries, including her series featuring revered first grade teacher, Miss Dimple Kilpatrick, set during the years of World War II. Miss Dimple Picks a Peck of Trouble is the latest novel in the series.

Not so long ago I asked Ballard about what she was reading. Her reply:
For Christmas my daughter gave me a copy of Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, and I enjoyed it so much I’m recommending it for my book club. Set in England in the present, the story follows the peculiar adventure of a lackluster man in his early retirement years who sets off to mail a letter one early summer morning and decides to deliver it in person. The fact that the recipient of the letter is some 600 miles away is the carrot of the story that leads the reader into an amazing and thought-provoking journey. A friend he has not seen for twenty years is dying in a hospice, and Harold feels that as long as he continues to walk, she will continue to live. And walk, he does, wearing the same yachting shoes and light jacket, while absorbing and experiencing facets of life far beyond his imagination.
Visit Mignon Ballard's website.

My Book, The Movie: Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause.

The Page 69 Test: Miss Dimple Picks a Peck of Trouble.

--Marshal Zeringue