Inside One Author's Heart: An Autobiography

Instead of her sweeping tales of the Old South, Ms. Price focuses on herself, her readers, and the special way in which they nourish each other. He tells it straight—with “warts and flaws” and, at all times, an endearing sense of humor about herself and her work.

Here Ms. Price reveals how she creates her haunting novels, and how she brings her characters to life on paper. Here are the heartfelt dialogues between Ms. Price and her readers. Here is the real Eugenia Price, eternally optimistic, yet strangely intimidated by her own success.

The story ranges from Ms. Price’s early years as a writer living in Chicago, to how she fled in the 1960’s for privacy to the sanctuary of St. Simons Island. And this is the most riveting part of her narrative. This deeply private and spiritual woman not only absorbed her new surroundings, she also created a mystique about the island and its history.