Patricia Little-Auguston opens the door to the West Room at Hacienda Carmel, where an author series has been taking place each month for the last three years. They have a fireplace glowing – when appropriate – cookies and a steady group of regulars. There are 25 people in attendance on average.
“I can show you what we do to put together our magnificent, cozy author events together,” says Little-Auguston, who has been reading her whole life – her all-time favorite is Norman Maclean’s 1976 novella A River Runs Through It, even though she tends to read nonfiction.
The meeting takes place on a sunny December afternoon. Hacienda Carmel is a senior living community for ages 55 and older, with an art club, a swimming pool and its own hair salon, but also the Hacienda Carmel Book Shoppe, a library and a community shop where this robust monthly “Meet Your Local Authors” program is rooted in a long tradition of readership among the community members.
Among the most popular author meetings was with Mae Waldroup, who started Thunderbird Bookshop, where artists and readers used to get together. Another popular visit was with Stanley Vernon Harlan, the author of Stories from my Childhood in Big Sur.
“And these were the oldest authors hosted by the program,” Little-Auguston points out, suggesting that the Hacienda Carmel residents prefer more mature voices.
Fortunately, Monterey County is home to many authors, and Little-Auguston has little problem securing local writers for the program – some even living in the Hacienda community itself. An example is John Straley, a novelist and once a poet laureate of Alaska, who inspired the bookshop idea.
In December, the program hosted Carmel Valley author Adriana Shuman, who owns Revival Ice Cream in downtown Monterey. Her book is titled Living Well: Empowering Habits for Vibrant Health and Unstoppable Energy. In the immediate future, the group will meet with Meg Waite Clayton, the author of Typewriter Beach – on Jan. 12 – and with Alison Van Diggelen of The Love Project in February.
The doors are open to the public.
The next Hacienda Carmel’s “Meet Your Local Authors” event takes place 2-4pm Monday, Jan. 12. 1000 Hacienda Carmel, Carmel. Free. plittleauguston@gmail.com, haciendacarmel.org
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