Thayer
Even when Chelsea Wilson Thayer lived in New York City, London and Ireland, she couldn’t keep the mountains she grew up in out of her head.
“Everywhere I lived, the mountains always drew me back,” Thayer said. “This is a place that I’m passionate about and I want to pour whatever ounce of talent or energy that I have into making this a better place for everyone, too.”
Thayer, a local resident and teacher, is now a published author with two books coming out in the coming months.
The first, “What Cat Lost,” is a young adult fiction novel based in the mountains of North Carolina and New York City.
“It’s a coming of age, romance story and it’s pretty typical as far as young adult novels go,” she said. “There’s high emotional stakes and the roller coaster of emotions that so many teenagers go through, especially as far as first love.”
The young adult novel, which Thayer began writing in 2009, is the first of a planned trilogy. Thayer said she is nearly finished writing the second book in the series and she’s hoping to release it late next year.
“What Cat Lost” is already available for pre-order online and will be released on Oct. 23.
While Thayer loves the young adult trilogy, her children’s book “The Patchwork Princess” is what she’s most excited for.
“I really consider it my love letter to the families of rural Appalachia,” she said. “It takes everything that I love about farm life and the simplicity of life here in the mountains and puts it all into a children’s picture book in a way that I don’t think we’ve seen done since Gloria Houston was writing.”
The book follows Phillipa Jane, a young girl who loves to climb trees, swing on the tire swing and explore the Christmas tree farm.
“For this one especially, I tried to encapsulate everything I love about this area and childhood in rural Appalachian in a book,” Thayer said. “It’s going to be really special.”
The illustrations for “The Patchwork Princess” are by Beth Snider, an illustrator based in the Kansas City area. It is set to be released in the spring of 2021.
Thayer is self-publishing both books through her new LLC, Write Now Press.
“I had been submitting the books through the traditional route of publishing for a few years,” she said. “But, at the beginning of quarantine, I thought, the time has come. I’m going to get these published and I’m going to do it myself.”
Thayer said publishing has been a huge learning process, but as a self-proclaimed “control freak,” she’s enjoyed having a say over every aspect of the projects.
“I wanted to make sure that it was done right and that it captured the essence of Appalachia,” Thayer said. “I just really wanted it to be authentic to this area. I hope I can just do it justice for the families that call these mountains home.”