Former Plymouth resident returns with new book

PLYMOUTH — Author and former Plymouth resident Jennifer Wixson will read from her newest book at a reception on Friday, Aug. 1, from 4-6 p.m. at the Pease Library.

Wixson's new novel, "The Songbird of Sovereign," tells the story of the town's most popular person, the retired music teacher Miss Hastings, age 88. The book weaves back and forth from the 1940s to the present day revealing how the self-centered teenager, Jana Hastings, becomes a small town's most beloved resident.

Wixson writes about small towns, something she knows a lot about after having lived in Plymouth (and several other small New England towns) from fifth through 12th grades. She left Plymouth in 1976 and eventually settled in central Maine, where she now lives with her husband tending her Scottish Highland cattle in the spring and summer and writing books in the winter. To date, she's published three books in a series of novels that celebrate small-town living. The Sovereign Series will eventually number four novels, all set in the fictitious farming community of Sovereign, Maine.

"Sovereign is a combination of all the small towns I've ever lived in," Wixson says, "including Plymouth. Small towns taught me the true caring nature of people, and the importance of looking out for one another."

The public is invited to attend the Pease Library reception. Autographed copies of all Wixson's books will be available for purchase.

For more information on the Plymouth event visit http://www.peasepubliclibrary.org/pease/. Those who are unable to attend the Aug. 1 library reading and discussion you can purchase autographed copies of all Wixson's books and learn more about The Sovereign Series at http://www.thesovereignseries.com/