Author’s book goes Hollywood: Palouse library hosts author of debut novel

The Palouse Library hosted author Julie Kibler on Friday afternoon.

Kibler is the sister of Palouse resident and preschool teacher, Brittany Sawyer, and had her debut novel published, “Calling Me Home.”

Palouse Library branch Manager Bev Pearce said about 25 people came to Kibler’s reading and book signing.

“It went really well,” she said.

Kibler introduced two of the main characters in the book to her Palouse Library audience and then described the publication process. Kibler’s book is published in several other countries, Pearce said.

Kibler also answered questions and signed her book.

Kibler’s novel was recently picked up by Warner Bros. for movie rights.

“Calling Me Home” was released in February and is described as similar to the books “Driving Miss Daisy” and “The Help.”

It tells the story about the relationship between an 89-year-old white woman and her black hairdresser who become close friends over the years. The old woman asks the younger one to drive her from Texas to Cincinnati for a funeral and during the trip, she tells a story about when she was younger, secretly falling in love with her family’s black housekeeper.

Kibler began writing her book after learning a bit of her own family history. As a teen, her paternal grandmother fell in love with a young black man, but their families tore them apart. Then, while digging into the past, she discovered her father’s hometown had signs at the city limits warning blacks to be gone by sundown.

Kibler is currently writing her next novel and blogs regularly with five other women writers at “What Women Write.” Her short memoir, “Final Sales on Tires,” a true story about her relationship with her other grandmother, was published in July 2008.

Warner Bros. studio is looking for a writer to adapt the story. The producer, Roy Lee, is best known for “The Lake House,” starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

“Calling Me Home” interweaves the story of a heartbreaking, forbidden love in 1930s Kentucky with an unlikely modern-day friendship.

Isabelle McAllister, 16, longs to escape her northern Kentucky hometown.

Falling for a black boy in late 1930s Kentucky isn’t just illegal, it’s dangerous. Signs at the city limits warn Negroes, “Don’t let the sun set on you here.” Despite repeated warnings, Isabelle and Robert disregard the racial divide.

Decades later, black hair stylist Dorrie Curtis agrees to drive her elderly white client, Miss Isabelle, cross-country to a funeral.

Over the years, Miss Isabelle has become more than just a customer. So Dorrie, a single black mother in her 30s, drops everything to drive Miss Isabelle to the funeral.

As the friends travel from Texas to Cincinnati, Isabelle confesses about her forbidden love and her story might help Dorrie find her own way. The story merges the past and present in a journey with unexpected detours and a bittersweet destination.