Houston lost a major literary talent when author Attica Locke decided to relocate to Los Angeles, but we’re comforted by the fact that she often makes the trek home, as she has for today’s An Evening with Attica Locke. Hosted by the Houston Public Library, the program is more than just a reading or meet-and-greet. It’s a chance to get to know the author in a relaxed setting. Locke will discuss her latest novel, The Cutting Season. She got the idea for Season when she attended a wedding on a former plantation. A black woman, Locke says she felt unsure about holding the celebration at a site where African Americans were once held as slaves. (”I couldn’t understand the idea of a plantation having a gift shop,’ she told us in a 2012 interview.) Season is set on a similar plantation-turned-tourist attraction, complete with restored slave quarters. The action follows Caren Gray, who oversees full-dress re-enactments on the property. After she finds a dead woman on the grounds, she becomes involved with the search for the killer, but to find out the truth about the murder, Gray has to face the reality of the plantation’s past — and her own.
Wed., Feb. 13, 6 p.m., 2013
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2012.