Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Well, if there’s a reader on your Christmas list, let me suggest an autographed novel by a local author. Dr. Will Headrick will hold a book talk and signing on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Bay Minette Public Library. He will be promoting his novel “The Christmas Shroud,” the story of a Christmas miracle and “a love story that will inspire and challenge your faith.” Headrick will also discuss his writing process and the inspiration that moved him to become a writer.

It was his love of writing that led Headrick to major in English and eventually to teach high school English. Headrick said that he has always enjoyed the craft of storytelling and helping young people become better writers with a clearer understanding of their own narrative voices was a rewarding vocation.

Originally from north Georgia, on the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains, Headrick’s geographical roots had a strong influence on his writing. “You can take the boy out of the Appalachians but you can’t take the Appalachians out of the boy,” Headrick said. Most of his books take place in the mountains and he even penned a memoir about his formative years living in the area.

He began writing on a regular basis about six years ago after his wife passed away. “I needed to stay busy doing something,” he said, and writing filled that need. He has been writing steadily ever since. “It is therapy for me,” he added. And it’s one that has yielded a real blessing beyond the purely personal, as those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of reading him yet will soon discover for yourself.

Pastoring for 50 years, Headrick has a vast wealth of education including master’s and doctorate degrees in Divinity from Covington Theological Seminary in Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. He took a hiatus from pastoring during his wife’s illness and contemplated retirement but, he related, “God had other plans.” He was called to Stockton where he has been pastoring at the Presbyterian Church for a year and half and enjoying his role in the community. He grew up in a small town and described returning to one later in life as being very much like coming home. He said he is much more comfortable in the smaller, unrushed and quieter life of a rural setting.

Headrick has seven books under his belt and is currently working on his eighth. He also has ideas for two more in mind after that. “If it’s in you, you just have to do it,” Headrick said of writing. “If you want to write, you just need to do it.”

Headrick’s books are all available through Amazon. Another seasonal title, “Christmas Ponderings,” is an exploration of the simplicity and magic of Christmases past. Another, “The Wildman of Conney’s Creek,” tells the story of a successful businessman who leaves his worldly life behind to live in the mountains, only to find his newfound peace soon disrupted by theft and murder. In “Sunset Place,” Headrick opens a window into the life of a senior citizen who decides to take a trip along Route 66 and relates a curious series of adventures that befall him along the way. Headrick’s memoir, “Coal by the Sack,” is an honest, tender and humorous look at his life growing up among the long shadows of the Appalachians. It is a reflection on how those experiences shaped his need to escape the expected march into factory work and the pattern of that life and to, instead, reach his goal of attending college and making a different life for himself and his family.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming book talk/signing and in the meantime visit Headrick’s website www.joyofwriting.org and read his blog!

In other news, don’t forget that the annual Bedtime Stories with Santa is tonight (Friday, Dec. 6th) at 6:30 p.m. at the Bay Minette Public Library.

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com