Kathryn Magendie, a West Virginia woman who came to Western North Carolina via South Louisiana, shows why plot is just the wheels of a narrative vehicle. Without voice, character, poetry and detail also, all you've got is a go-kart. In her debut novel, “Tender Graces,” Magendie builds up the plot — a prodigal daughter story — into a sustained entertainment through an exuberant mountain portrayal.   --Asheville Citizen Times

The strong, “quare” voice and supernatural elements also infuse Kathryn Magendie's novel, “Sweetie,” in which a bullied schoolgirl finds a friend in a wild spirit.  --Asheville Citizen Times

This [Tender Graces] is a novel of family, both good and bad.  --Baton Rouge Advocate

A force of lyrical storytelling.  --Smoky Mountain News

Sweetie tells of great beauty in the eyes of a child . . .  --The Mountaineer

“Sweetie” has received a warm welcome, charming fans and critics alike.  --Sulpur Springs MSSNews

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR GUYS: It may have a soft, pink cover but it ain’t that kind of book. Kathryn Magendie’s Virginia Kate has plenty of what my grandmother called “brass,” treats us to earfuls of authentic dialogue, and gradually reveals a story not easily forgotten. We will soon read more, I hope, from Magendie’s pen. She’s real. --Wayne Caldwell, Author of Cataloochee and Requiem by Fire

With a voice true to its source, Kathryn Magendie's Tender Graces gathers us into its story of family loss, connection, and redemption.  Magendie knows well how we live within the chains that are both our bondage and our empowerment. This novel weaves those chains, or webs-- as mountain women call the warp they have threaded onto their looms-- with a sturdy yet graceful hand. Its texture rests in one's imagination like a coverlet crafted to bring warmth and, yes, comfort. --Kathryn Stripling Byer, former North Carolina Poet Laureate


 

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