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fSubmittedLocal author Carolyn Graddy, seated in the middle, is pictured with her husband, George Graddy, and Mount Carmel Library Director Twiila Burton Coon, at leftSovereign celebrates release of ‘All the Little Crittersother stories or parts of a storyto form one of her works.BY JAKE BETHELTHE REGISTERMOUNT CARMEL — TheMount Carmel Public Library was the scene of a book signing Monday, to celebrate the release of “All the Little Critters,” a work of partial fiction by Susan Sover-Sovereign wasn’t sifting behind the table with her books, though. Carolyn Graddy, who goes by the pen name of Susan Sovereign when she writes, along with her husband George Graddy, were the two present at Monday’s event. 'They currently reside in Lancaster, but livedin Mount Carmel for about twodecades.Graddy said she loves writing about her experiences. Her two published works are comprised of stories about household life. The first was “Never a Dull Moment,’’ about raising her children and the second is the book she is currently promoting, “All the Little Critters,” which is centered around her pets.The front cover of “All the Little Critters” features a pug and a long-haired cat, which resemble the pets the couple has kept around. In total they’ve had five pug dogs at various timesThe stories in her most recent book are both old and new, she said, but they are all intended to be a positive take on the companionship of animals.“It’s supposed to be a warm fuzzy book,” she said.One story she recalled involved the repetition of teaching one of her pugs to use a doggy door. He wasn’t getting the concept, so she held onto him and went out the doggy door with him. Eventually he got the hang of it, but so did a raccoon that made its way into their home on one occasion.Another story Graddy teased the snippet, she will join it with was the time her cat Misty tookand had a long-haired cat namedMisty, who lived to be 27 years old.“They’re supposed to make at least one person smile, Graddy said of her stories, which generally deal with the shenanigans pets get themselves into, a commonality to which many pet owners can attest. “It’s just the funny things animals do,” she added.The writing process itself excites Graddy. She will often be so taken with an idea for a story that she will write it on whatever is available, including a napkin. Once she returns homea feather from the hat of a partyguest.The portion of the writing process Graddy doesn’t exactly care for is proofreading.“It takes longer than writing,” she said.Poring back over the stories to find grammatical or continuity errors is a grueling task, said Graddy, and she doesn’t want anyone talking while she performs the meticulous work.Graddy said she has written over 500 stories, though only a few have been published in book form. Others have been published in periodicals or regional newspapers, something she has been doing regularly for around 25 years, she said.
Newspaper Details
Mount Carmel Register
Mount Carmel, Illinois, US
Sun, Jul 22, 2018
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Patty M.
IL, USA 25 Aug 2022
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