SWAG Writers Presents: It’s a Mystery!

The SWAG Writers (Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta Group of the Virginia Writers Club) Reading Series continues with a reading by novelists Betsy Ashton (Smith Mountain Lake, VA), Mollie Cox Bryan (Waynesboro, VA), and Sarah Kennedy (Lexington, VA).

The reading will take place on Wednesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at the AVA Restaurant & Wine Bar (formerly The Darjeeling Café), 103 W. Beverley St., Staunton. The reading is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase following the reading.

This event is the latest public reading sponsored by SWAG organizers who hope to elevate the profile of area writers and promote the literary arts in Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County by providing a forum for local and visiting authors to share their work with the public. The group is made up of professional, aspiring, and hobby writers who also host a monthly mixer where members meet to network and socialize and read short excerpts of their work at an open mic. Writers interested in joining the group can contact Cliff Garstang at[email protected].

About the Featured Authors:

Betsy Ashton has written about her experiences mentoring women throughout her professional consulting career. She used this experience in crafting the story about Mad Max Davies. She writes feature articles for Laker Weekly, part of Roanoke Times. She is also active in many writers groups and clubs and is the President of the Virginia Writer’s Club.

Mollie Cox Bryan is a cookbook author with a penchant for murder. She is also the author of the Cumberland Creek Mysteries: Scrapbook of Secrets and Scrapped. She is also the author of Mrs. Rowes Little Book of Southern Piesand Mrs. Rowe’s Restaurant Cookbook; A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley. She also is the author of a Kindle book Honey, I’m Sorry I Killed Your Aquasaurs (And Other Short Essays on the Parenting Life).

Sarah Kennedy was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. A professor of English at Mary Baldwin College, she holds a PhD in Renaissance Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing. She is the author of The Altarpiece, Book One of The Cross and the Crown series of historical novels, as well as seven books of poems. When she’s not reading mysteries, crime fiction, or historical fiction, Sarah’s working in her garden or experimenting in her kitchen!