Lapeer woman publishes book, holds book signing

Brittany Charnley, 26, stands proudly with her first published novel, Santos. The local author will be at The Book Shelf on Saturday signing copies of her novel. The book is also available at Dagwood’s Deli, Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Photo by Jacob Hunsanger LAPEER — Brittany Charnley, 26, was born and raised right here in Lapeer. She is a 2003 graduate of Lapeer East High School, and works in her father’s dental lab in downtown Lapeer. She is also a published author.

Charnley’s first novel, Santos, was released by Tate Publishing on Tuesday (Jan. 24) and is being sold on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble and locally at The Book Shelf and Dagwood’s Deli in downtown Lapeer. The new author will be at The Book Shelf on Saturday (Jan. 28) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. signing copies of her paperback novel and talking with guests.

Santos, a 236-page paperback novel, is a Christian fiction book that follows the character Trisha, a girl in her mid-20s, as she travels to Spain for a long vacation. The main character is tired of the bar scene, and equally tired of “straitlaced men from the church,” but she quickly falls for a man she meets in Spain.

In the novel, Trisha soon becomes pregnant and must move back home with more questions than answers and a long process of life-changing decisions to make. She begins receiving anonymous letters in the mail that both encourage her and offer her advice. The theme of the book, said Charnley, is that no matter what you are going through, God is there and you do not have to go through it alone.

The book is Christian fiction, but the author stressed that it is not overtly Christian and can be enjoyed by anyone who reads it.

She said the inspiration for the novel came from her own experiences and a hole she saw in the publishing world. An adventurous person, Charnley enjoys traveling and had done a lot of it, both near and far. She has traveled inside the United States to Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and internationally to places like London and Jerusalem. While she has not been to Spain yet, she said her experience traveling helped her write about it in the novel.

She also said that, while she loves to read, many of the Christian fiction books she picked up did not do much for her. “I would read the novels pretty quickly,” said Charnley, “but they seemed kind of empty.” Therefore, the local writer set out to fill that hole and write something she thought would be worth reading.

She started writing the book during National Novel Writing Month, an annual event when writers all around the world try to complete the first draft of a book within 30 days. She accomplished that task, and the first draft of Santos came into being. Months of revisions and several rejection letters later, Charnley got a book deal from Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC.

Her first book signing took place last month at Dagwood’s Deli in downtown Lapeer. The author said it has been an exciting experience, and while it has been a lot of hard work, she is thrilled to see the book is selling.

Charnley also has her own website, www.brittanycharnley.com. Anyone who picks up a copy of the book will be interested to know that an alternate ending to Santos is available on her website. Charnley now joins the list of published authors from Lapeer County, which includes Marguerite deAngeli, William Wallace Green and Michael Spradlin.

For more information about Brittany Charnley and her novel Santos, go online to www.brittanycharnley.com. The Book Shelf is located at 359 W. Nepessing Street in downtown Lapeer.