On the second-longest day of the year–and building on past successful “Meet the Author” Zoom meetings–author Kim Wright (above, left) was interviewed today by her friend and fellow writer, Joy Callaway, about Kim’s newest novel, “The Longest Day of the Year.”

Here’s what the people who tuned in today learned about Kim and the art of writing, and the reason her latest book is perfect beach reading.

“The Longest Day of the Year” is the chronicling of one day’s events in the life of four women, ages approximately 20, 40, 60 and 80 who are all facing big life changes and challenges, with only one thing in common–their love of the beach at Elliott Point.

Conventional wisdom says writers should write what they know about. If that is true, then no one is more qualified to write a book set at the beach than Kim Wright who has vacationed at her parents’ condo in Cherry Grove Beach, SC, for over 40 years. Just published, “The Longest Day of the Year” is a tribute to the beach and the calming, transforming effect of the tide’s ebb and flow.

The program was introduced by Maureen Panek, Harper Library’s program coordinator, who turned it over to Joy for the interview. Joy’s first question went something like this: “If you were stranded on an island with only one person, who would you want that person to be?” In a clearly “didn’t see that one coming” tone of voice, Kim dodged it by saying, “I’d like to be alone with my laptop. I’d like to just sit at the beach and write.” But then she added, “If I had to pick someone, I’d pick Cully.” Cully is the 80-year-old in her new book.

Joy pointed out that the story has the smallest details, and that makes the reader feel like they are right there. Kim’s response was, “The more specific you are, the more universal you are.”

Both her interview and the book contain several bits of philosophic wisdom like that. My personal favorite from the book is, “People most often preach the sermon they need to hear.”

For a fun summer read interspersed with nuggets of wisdom, you can buy “The Longest Day of The Year” on Amazon. And you can watch Kim’s interview with Joy at: https://www.facebook.com/KimWrightAuthor/