Stockdale Author Priscilla Lalisse Receives Key to City of Heflin, Alabama

During a stop on the STOCKDALE book tour, African-American author Priscilla Lalisse receives Key to the City of Heflin from Mayor Anna Berry.

(PRWEB) July 4, 2006 -- During a stop on the STOCKDALE book tour, African-American author Priscilla Lalisse receives Key to the City of Heflin from Mayor Anna Berry. Lalisse, a Heflin native, is being honored for her literary contributions and for presenting positive images of young adults in her book, STOCKDALE. Directly following the ceremony, copies of STOCKDALE will be available for purchase during a book-signing session and reception sponsored by the Heflin Arts Council Writing Division.
                
“It is such a wonderful feeling to receive this honor and also have the opportunity to share it with my family and friends,” says Lalisse. “I’ve always been attached to Heflin and my experiences here often provide the backdrop for my work. It’s great to have a chance to show my appreciation in person.”

During the 1980s in the fictional small southern town of Stockdale, Alabama, where almost every remnant of segregation has been erased, the barrier that matters most, freedom to love regardless of color, still remains. For a forward-thinking young woman named Cassie Taylor, Stockdale has one barrier too many, and she would like nothing more than to leave town for good. Taught early that she’s not free to love whomever she pleases in Stockdale due to the color of her skin, Cassie embarks on a search for love that first will take her into and out of the arms of Blake, a biracial boy from a broken home, and then into the arms of white military serviceman John, who may be her ticket out of Stockdale.

“Priscilla is a local treasure,” says Anna Berry, Mayor of Helflin. Having the pleasure of seeing her grow into such an accomplished young woman is such a gift to all of us who have known her since childhood. Her presence here in Heflin today, along with her successful writing career in Paris, is a testament to all young people that dreams can come true with hard work and education.”

A true Southern belle, Priscilla Lalisse was born and raised in Heflin. She moved to Paris from Manhattan in 1999 where she worked as a magazine editor for C++ Magazine. Her articles now appear regularly in a variety of online publications such as Bonjour Paris, Café de la Soul and Paris Woman Journal, for which she is a page editor. She lives in Paris with her young son and writes full time. To learn more about Priscilla Lalisse and her book STOCKDALE by iUniverse, visit her website at: priscillalalisse.com. She is available for interviews.

Sunday, July 9, 2006 from 3-5 p.m.
Lucille L. Morgan Library
541 Ross Street
Heflin, AL

This event is free and open to the general public. Contact Clara Cavender, Coordinator of the Heflin Arts Council Writing Division, at 256-463-7752 or STOCKDALE publicist Carolyn Moncel at 877-818-3864 for more information.

Media Contact:
Carolyn Moncel
Mondavé Communications
In the U.S.: (877) 818-3864
In France:    +33 (0)6 19 63 46 84

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