Beginning Tuesday, April 7, Katie Scarvey and Jesse McCartney will lead a discussion of selected stories from “Faith Stories: Short Fiction on the Varieties and Vagaries of Faith,” edited by C. Michael Curtis (Houghton Mifflin: Boston, 2003).

The discussion group will meet at 6:30 p.m. for six consecutive Tuesdays in the Christian Forum classroom of First United Methodist Church.  Enter the building through the entrance under the portico beneath the steeple on Church Street.

The informal discussions will focus on issues of spirituality and faith in short works of secular fiction. The discussions are open to church members as well as non-members. You are invited to participate and to bring a friend.

Texts may be ordered through local bookstores or on-line sources; a limited number of texts will be available at the first meeting on April 7.

Please notify McCartney (jessefmccartney@gmail.com) if you have an interest in attending so that they may plan appropriately, especially if you wish to reserve a used copy of the text.

Book signings next week

Two authors will sign their books on Saturday, April 11 at Literary Bookpost, 110 S. Main St. in downtown Salisbury.

From 1-3 p.m., Richard Draughon of Statesville will sign his short work, “Draconis: The Fallen Kingdom.”

Only 43 pages long, it is a simple tale of good and evil involving dragons, but it’s not for children, due to violence and sexual content. The text is reminiscent of a comic book and would benefit from illustrations.

Draughon was born in Statesville, graduated from high school there and went to Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory. The book is $9.99.

Marty P. Harris will be at the Bookpost from 3-5 p.m., with his photographic collection,”What the Road Passes By.” Harris walked more than 1,600 miles and took more than 6,000 color slides, starting in 1987.

He spent a long time trying to get the book published and finally has it. Some people in the photos have passed on, places have changed, technology changed, and so did Harris.

The photos capture faces that have seen many years, and a different way of life. You’ll find mules, reformed moonshiners, a corn field in Rowan County, an old steam engine at Spencer Shops. He captured people like Rufus Hussey, the slingshot man, and potter Burlon Craig.

There’s little of the modern world in the photos — a Pelican helicopter, the 1990 graduating class on Ocracoke. You’ll see more barns and country stores and old cars.

It’s obviously a labor of love, a nice gift for people who value our past and the land.