Local author wins Selah Award for Book of the Year
Sarah Loudin Thomas recognized for ‘The Right Kind of Fool’ at Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
July 13, 2021
Author Sarah Loudin Thomas is the winner of two 2021 Selah Awards for her novel, “The Right Kind of Fool,” including one for Book of the Year-Fiction. Photo by Fred McCormick
As Loyal Raines came to life in the pages of “The Right Kind of Fool,” Sarah Loudin Thomas believed there was something special about the teenage boy whose life changed forever after a startling discovery on a hot summer day in 1934 at a river in Beverly, W.V.
When the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference announced its selection for the 2021 Selah Book of the Year-Fiction, the judges agreed.
“I love this book, and I always try to do the best work possible for readers, but it’s still kind of surprising when other people also think it’s good,” said Thomas, the author of seven historical fiction novels and development and human resources officer for Black Mountain Home for Children. “I really credit Loyal.”
The book tells the story of a young boy, born deaf, who runs to his absentee father after stumbling upon a dead body while swimming in a nearby river. Exploring the point of view of the lead character, whose remarkable courage helps solve a murder and mend a broken family, was a unique experience, according to Thomas.
“He’s the heart of the book,” she said. “I sat down, and started to write the book and thought I was going to be writing from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy, which I am not, and someone who is deaf, which I am not. It felt a little overwhelming.”
Digging into Loyal’s perspective, growing up in the small town in the early 20th century, proved fascinating.
“It was a different time, and people were less knowledgeable about others who faced challenges, like being blind or deaf,” Thomas said. “I had a teacher in the second grade who taught us a little bit of sign language, and I’ve always been intrigued by it. The first thing I did with this book was research on sign language, and the ideas and misconceptions we have about how deaf people communicate.”
“The Right Kind of Fool,” a novel by local author Sarah Loudin Thomas, was named the 2021 Book of the Year (Fiction) in the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference at Ridgecrest. Image courtesy of Sarah Loudin Thomas
The level of concentration necessary to read lips and interpret body language to understand the surrounding world is “intense,” according to the author.
“There are points in the story where Loyal can tell someone is yelling at him, because they think that will help him hear what they’re saying,” she said. “There are others who slow down, which isn’t helpful if you’re a deaf person who reads lips. In scenes where Loyal has to focus a lot to read lips, he's exhausted.”
The story develops when Loyal comes home for summer break. Thomas spent time in Beverly, which is near her mother’s home in the author’s native W.V., to deepen her understanding of the protagonist.
“It’s a small town and it’s known for its Civil War history, which I wove into the story, so the research was fun,” she said. “My mom and I could get in the car and drive over to Beverly, and a lot of the buildings were still there, and there are many historical markers.”
Its historic character offered the author a glimpse into the town’s past.
“It doesn’t look a whole lot different than it did in the 1930s,” she said. “I can pull up the historic photos and see so much of it still there.”
The Mountain State plays a recurring role in each of Thomas’ books. Her 2019 novel, “When Silence Sings,” is set in 1930s-era Thurmond, W.V., a booming railroad town at the height of the coal industry that boasts a population of seven residents today. Her next book will be set against the backdrop of the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel disaster of 1931, regarded as one of the worst industrial accidents in the nation’s history.
“There are so many amazing places in W.V. and so much history that is little-known,” she said. “My first books really dug into my family’s history, and those stories, and a lot of what I write today, are rooted in the stories I heard growing up.”
Her Christian faith is also prominent in her work.
“If you’re writing historical fiction set in W.V. I dare you to try to leave God out,” Thomas said. “Faith really is part of the fabric of that culture.”
“The Right Kind of Fool” won the Selah Award in the Historical fiction category, making it one of 12 works of fiction eligible for the Book of the Year Award. The winners were announced in a ceremony at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, May 29.
It was the first Selah Book of the Year Award for Thomas, who received an Inspy Award for “Miracle in a Dry Season” in 2015. All of the author’s books are available at sarahloudinthomas.com.
Signed copies of “The Right Kind of Fool” can be purchased at Sassafras in downtown Black Mountain.