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86-YEAR-OLD NORTHGATE TERRACE RESIDENT PUBLISHES SECOND NOVEL

August 19, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2014

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Contact: Amanda Shell
Moxley Carmichael
(865) 255-0661

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Northgate Terrace resident and 86-year-old author Margaret Bowling (center) signs copies of her newest novel,

Northgate Terrace resident and 86-year-old author Margaret Bowling (center) signs copies of her newest novel, “Mountain Glory,” for Senior Asset Manager Terri Evans (left) and KCDC Executive Director and CEO Alvin Nance at the book signing event in the Northgate Terrace social room. 

Author Margaret Bowling, an 86-year-old Knoxville resident, recently held a book signing for her second novel, “Mountain Glory” – the sequel to her first story – and a third installment is in the works.

The two-hour event was held in the social hall at Northgate Terrace on Wednesday. In 2012, Bowling fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming an author when she published “Mountain Refuge.”

The second novel is set in the late 1800s and continues to follow the life of Bowling’s great-grandfather, Will Wilson, as he raises his family in a small community called Norma in Scott County. The 254-page book is based on real life, but Bowling emphasizes that the novel is fiction. She acknowledges that she took some liberties with Norma, turning the small, quiet town into more of a village.

“The folks from Scott County that I have shown have liked it,” Bowling said. “They don’t seem to mind the changes I made.”

Bowling has received great responses to her book from Scott County. She donated three copies of her novels to the library at Scott High School. She also is in talks with the Scott County Visitors Center about selling her book as a souvenir.

The first novel focused on Will as he ventured from his home in Scott County to Alabama, but something drew him back to the East Tennessee mountains of his childhood. The second book focuses more on the lives of his children, including Bowling’s grandmother, Nancy Wilson, as a child, and their friends and neighbors.

“It’s really nice, because I’m getting to a point in the series where I’m writing about people I have met and talked to like my grandmother,” Bowling said.

An East Tennessee native, Bowling did not pick up a pen until she retired, and she began writing stories in spiral notebooks. Her journey to publishing began during a writing course at the O’Connor Senior Center where she learned the ins and outs of getting published.

“People seem to be really enthused about my book,” Bowling said. “It’s because of my age. It’s a novelty to them. I’m getting to be real famous around here with some people. I’m meeting a lot of new people. I never thought I’d have so many new friends.”

“Mountain Glory” was published by GJ Publishing, based in Loudon, Tennessee. Bowling has been a resident of Northgate Terrace, a property managed by Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC), since 1989.

Bowling said she already is halfway through the writing portion of her third book and plans to publish the next edition about the Wilson family in the next few years.

Since 1936, KCDC has been dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for the citizens of Knoxville and Knox County. KCDC’s mission is to improve and transform neighborhoods and communities by providing quality affordable housing, advancing development initiatives and fostering self-sufficiency. For more information, call 865-403-1100 or visit http://www.kcdc.org.