Amy Willoughby-Burle, Author
In her latest novel, Asheville author Amy Willoughby-Burle embraces a new genre—historical fiction—and a subject that taps into her love for books and libraries. The Other Side of Certain introduces Mattie, an aspiring teacher who begins helping out the Pack Horse Librarians of eastern Kentucky. “I had never heard of these amazing women,” Willoughby-Burle says. “Once I started researching, I was hooked. Libraries and librarians have always been a major part of my life, so writing a story about them seemed like a natural fit.”
And although the book, as indicated by its cover, offers romance as well, its author says there is more to it than just a love story. “There’s a huge focus on family and community and forgiveness and second chances,” she says. “It’s uplifting and encouraging, but it doesn’t shy away from hard pasts and harder decisions about the present and future.”
Willoughby-Burle turned to the library for her research, seeking out almanacs, maps and folklore of eastern Kentucky. “I researched Asheville of old as well,” she says, “as the main character is from our neck of the woods. I pored over old photographs and even a model of the city in the downstairs area of Pack Library just outside the children’s area. I even found old photographs in the Tunnel Road Ingles that served as inspiration. I never thought of myself as a researcher as my other fiction has been mostly contemporary, but I have loved it.”
The Other Side of Certain, September, 2022, historical fiction, $19.99, by Amy Willoughby-Burle, and published by Fireship Press, Tucson, AZ. Find the book at regional bookstores. To learn more about a Libraries Across America contest in January, visit AmyWilloughbyBurle.com.
