In an uncanny instance of art foretelling the future, author Robert Beatty’s latest book, a mystery-adventure titled Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, was scheduled to launch in early October, with an eight-city tour throughout the Southern Appalachians. Beatty, author of the popular Serafina series, now lives with his family in Asheville, but the book was inspired by the 15 years they lived on Cane Creek, just south of Asheville. During that time, he says, he noticed that area storms, along with hurricanes in the Atlantic, seemed to be getting more intense. “I knew that it might all just be in my imagination,” he says, “but I began to envision a story about a hurricane striking North Carolina and causing catastrophic floods in the mountains.”
Beatty’s daughters—ages 13, 11 and 2 at the time his first book, Serafina and the Black Cloak, came out—are now 24, 22 and 13, and they, along with his wife, are actively involved in the creation of his stories. For the new book, with his daughters in mind, he says, “I envisioned an orphaned 13-year-old girl named Sylvia Doe who loves horses and nature and the mountains she lives in. When the river floods and begins to cause extensive damage, Sylvia—and her trusty horse Kitty Hawk (the name of one of our own horses)—has to fight to save the ones she loves.”
Beatty and his family were spared the damage that many others around Asheville suffered. “When Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina and the mountain rivers flooded, I can’t say I was totally surprised,” the author says. “It seemed like a continuation of what I had been seeing and living through on our farm. But I was utterly shocked by the scope and magnitude of the disaster, the devastating power of the floods and how many lives were lost. And it felt particularly strange that it was all happening in the very week that had been scheduled to launch the book.”
Beatty will donate 100 percent of royalties from the new book to help with relief for his fellow Western North Carolinians impacted by the storm. “I chose the Helene Rebuild Collaborative because I wanted to partner with a local, grassroots organization that I could trust was getting immediate and direct relief to my friends, neighbors and fans in the areas hardest hit by the storm,” he says. Helene Rebuild Collaborative is an initiative begun by co-founders Cooper Leist, Lance Buskey and Sam Iatarola, who gathered after the storm and got to work helping wherever they saw the need.
“I am very grateful to the kind and wonderful people of NC, TN and the other southern states who have been so supportive of my Serafina and Willa books over the years,” Beatty says. “To be a published author is a dream come true. So, for me, especially considering the plot and themes of my newest book, it just seemed right to donate my royalties to the people impacted by the floods.”
For more about Robert Beatty’s books, visit RobertBeattyBooks.com. Learn more about Helene Rebuild Collaborative and how you can help, or request help, at HurricaneHeleneWNC.com.
