The Rhythm of Selby

by Marti Healy

Winner of the 2009 Independent Publishers Awards Bronze Medal for Popular Fiction, a national recognition of excellence award. Writer Macy Harris moves to the small Southern town of Selby, South Carolina, in search of mild winters and a culture known for its equally warm hospitality. A place to write in rhythm with a slower pace of life. She soon becomes enchanted with Selby s gentle residents, its generations of history, its tradition of horses and dogs, its magnificent old homes and gardens, art and music, and excellent cuisine. But Selby also has its share of eccentric neighbors and family secrets. Secrets that have haunted their caretakers for more than a century, and still whisper from their graves. A tragic train derailment, the dying words of one of its victims, a fabled ruby necklace, a strained childhood friendship, a turn-of-the-century attempted murder, a terrifying storm that washes a 150-year-old secret to the surface -- all come together as part of a tangled, multi-generational mystery that eventually takes an entire town to decipher. The book is punctuated with numerous sepia-toned photographs, which add to the story s strong sense of place.

358 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 2008

About the author

Marti Healy is the author of three novels, two collections of animal-oriented and faith-based short stories, three collections of essays relative to the joys of life in a small southern town, and one children's book.

Her novels include:

"The Secret Child" - Woven within the harsh realities of pre-Civil War South Carolina is an unexpected, mystical tale of gypsies and fairies. These seemingly disparate environments are deftly blended with a strong rhythm and lyrical style that keep the reader flowing emotionally and seamlessly from one reality to the next and back. A young girl, Marka, is the Irish Traveller that carries us through the story. But his is not a nursery book. No fairy dust and tiny wings. And yet it is infused with magic and beauty - while effortlessly layered with the complexities of freedom, human rights, justice, and life decisions. A warm and welcoming story of innocence and truth and the power of our beliefs and love for one another.

"The Rhythm of Selby" - a gently mysterious novel of the South, set in the fictitious town of Selby, South Carolina. This is a very lyrically written work, with a strong sense of place created through vivid descriptions and memorable incidents and characters.

"Blinding the Moon" - is set in the 1970s, and follows the struggles of a young folks singer trying to come to terms with his childhood as well as his manhood. Through a series of flashbacks and mad running, running drugs and riding the rails, finding peace in the Southwest, and putting his mother to rest, the book threads together real life experiences of two of the authors good friends: singer Chad Mitchell and photographer Dale Wickum - all knit together into a strongly lyrical literary fiction, all under the allegorical gaze of the moon.

Her collections of animal/faith-based short stories and essays include:

"The God-Dog Connection" is subtitled: Things Ive learned about God and faith through the dogs and cats in my life. It is a collection of 25 essays that each captures a small vignette of animal behavior, and then the faith lesson that can be drawn from it. Now in its second printing, this delightful, gentle and warm work has been enthusiastically embraced by Christian and mainstream readers alike.

"Walking with Dogs: A Spiritual Journey" - is often used as a book of meditations. It includes 23 essays inspired by the author's walks with her dogs through a small southern town, and old-growth forest, the town's renowned horse district, and many parks and gardens. Beautifully illustrated with original drawings by local artist, Mimi Inman.

Her collection of short essays celebrating the joys of life, especially in a small town, include:

"Breathings - Tiny Stories for the Thin Places of Your Heart" - a collection of more than 60 of the author's best loved writings never before published in book form. It is lyrical and uplifting and beautifully illustrated and bound.

"Yes, Barbara, There Is An Aiken." - Vol. 1 - a gathering of fifty of her favorite columns from her vast number written as a contributing columnist to The Aiken Standard and Bella Magazine (and others). It is a delightful insight into the daily life of a small southern town.

"Falling in Love with Aiken, Again" - Vol. 2 - a collection of another fifty of her columns featuring the joys of small town living in the south, specifically in Aiken, SC.

Her children's book:

"The Childornot Tales" is written for the child in all of us. Whether you are a child or not, you can enjoy these fun, lyrical, rhyming stories that feature steampunk style visuals throughout.



Marti was a copywriter for more than three decades, the majority of that career spent with a communications firm in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she was senior writer and Vice President. She became a freelance newspaper columnist in 2004. and, beginning in 2008, she has devoted her time almost exclusively to various personal writing project