Carla Damron
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with award-winning novelist Carla Damron, author of The Weird Girl, on Tuesday, October 28, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Damron will be in conversation with Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and DAYLO student leader E Achurch. Free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale and signing. Seating is limited; please call in advance to reserve: 843-379-7025.
ABOUT THE WEIRD GIRL
“A riveting read that will fill you with outrage and hope.”—Catherine Matthews, author of Releasing the Reins
Award-winning social worker turned award-winning novelist Carla Damron writes crime fiction to make a difference—humanistic cautionary tales populated by believably engaging characters confronting real-world dilemmas. The Weird Girl heralds the return of Georgia Thayer, the social worker protagonist of Damron’s 2022 novel The Orchid Tattoo, winner of the PenCraft Award for Literary Excellence. Georgia has spent her career fighting for the vulnerable, but nothing could prepare her for being a foster mom to Tessa—a teenager haunted by her traumatic past. Determined to give her a normal life, Georgia’s hopes are crushed when a neighborhood party spirals into disaster, leaving one girl fighting for her life and another who vanishes without a trace.
As Georgia undertakes a frantic search for the missing girl, she uncovers a dangerous fentanyl trade that snakes from hospital
emergency rooms to high school hallways to the darkest corners of her city. With her chosen family threatened, her faith in herself shaken, and an unexpected ally emerging from the shadow, Georgia’s efforts to save one girl puts her own in danger. The clock is ticking. The truth is deadly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carla Damron is a fiction writer and social worker. She is also the author of The Stone Necklace, which winner of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association’s Star Award for best novel, and of the Caleb Knowles mystery novels, which explore social issues like addiction, homelessness, mental illness, and human trafficking. In 2014, Damron was recognized as the South Carolina Social Worker of the Year, and in 2017, she was honored with the Pioneer Award by the University of South Carolina College of Social Work for her advocacy on the state and national levels.
Learn more about the Pat Conroy Literary Center at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.
