Author Odessa Blaine (Where the Roots Tangle) in Convo with Lo Patrick
About this Event
ABOUT ODESSA BLAINE
Aspiring cryptid and general oddment, Odessa Blaine haunts the north Georgia mountains. She’s farm raised and steeped in Southern traditions, folklore, and history. When she’s not haunting the woods or performing stories, Odessa spends her time volunteering for nonprofit organizations and encouraging others to embrace their superpowers. Growing up with warnings of Wampus Cats, hearing family stories, and learning how to use the plants and animals of the area cultivated curiosity and a love of hidden things.
Adult life has been a meandering journey of finding the things in this Universe that are worth being enchanted by. Now in her 40s, she’s proud to have helped produce an award winning short film, And the Moon Sees Me, and is eager for the released of her debut novel, Where the Roots Tangle, through Mercer University Press on September 1, 2026. Odessa has been crafting performance stories for nearly 20 years, has 15 years of marketing and corporate training experience, and holds a degree in Sociology with a concentration in Organizational and Social Change. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Broadleaf Writer Association and as President of Sassafras Literary.
ABOUT WHERE THE ROOTS TANGLE
Edwina's shaky world is rocked by the M**der of a childhood friend on a sweltering Georgia day in 1929. War erupts between the fed-up poor folks of Shine Town and Edy's in-laws, the old money Jacksons of Canes Crossin. Edwina and her sister are trapped in the middle.
Growing up Shine Town trash with their single mother, Edwina and Josephine knew about hard living. Then Beauregard Jackson planted a prized baby boy in Edy’s sister. Their mother was thrilled to see Jo marry up. Beau’s family was livid.
The Jacksons were rumored to own everything in the valley and then some. Ruling from the family’s plantations, they clung to bygone ways and enforced their will.
Until hubris made them vulnerable.
Edy spent years reconciling love for her sister and hatred of the Jacksons. Jealousy, loneliness, adoration, and defiance warred inside her. The fragile balance crumbles when her mother vanishes, she’s forced to abandon Jo, and Shine Town turns on her.
She turns to the mountains for answers, but finds more confusion when Edy stumbles into the remnants of a people more ancient than memory. They offer an escape,but she can't leave her sister behind.
Tripping over prejudice, secrets, and uncertainty, can Edy get out of her own way and save the folks she cares about before Jackson greed gets them all killed?
Get tangled up in hardscrabble Southern living, small town politics, blood feuds, nearly forgotten folkways, family legacy, and a dash of Appalachia magic.
ABOUT LO PATRICK
LO PATRICK is a former lawyer and current novelist living in the suburbs of Atlanta. Her debut, The Floating Girls, earned a starred review from Publisher's Weekly, was a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, and was a Reader's Digest Editor's Pick.
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