FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Page & Palette, 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope, will have author Erin Akey for a signing Feb. 20, from 2–4 p.m. Her book “After the Rain” details the journey of one family’s survival after one of the most devastating and destructive natural disasters in this country’s history.

Akey, her three sons ages 13, 9 and 5, and her mother set out to seek safety as Hurricane Katrina approached their home in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Akey was a divorced, single mother who had to find a way for her family to survive as they fled the storm, found out that all that was left of their home and possessions was the slab of concrete and nothing else.

She had to learn how to navigate the governmental bureaucracies to get help for them to survive, followed by her home insurance company trying any and everything to avoid honoring their commitment to their policyholders, and securing a safe place for them to live during these trying times.

Author Irene Latham will be at the bookstore on Feb. 21, from 2-4 p.m., to sign copies of “Leaving Gee’s Bend.”

Set in 1932 and inspired by the Alabama town’s rich quilting history, Latham’s debut novel is a delightful, satisfying story of a young girl facing a brave new world.

Ludelphia Bennett may be blind in one eye, but she can still put in a good stitch. Ludelphia sews all the time, especially when things go wrong. But when Mama goes into labor early and gets deathly ill, it seems like even quilting won’t help.

That’s when she decides to do something drastic — leave Gee’s Bend for the very first time. Mama needs medicine that can only be found miles away in Camden.

But that doesn’t stop Ludelphia. She just puts one foot in front of the other. What ensues is a wonderful, riveting and sometimes dangerous adventure. She weathers each challenge in a way that would make her mother proud, and ends up saving the day for her entire town.

Latham is a poet and novelist who writes heart-touching tales of unexpected adventure.

A Birmingham resident for the past 25 years, she has published more than 120 poems of various books, journals and anthologies, including a full-length collection.

For more information, call (251) 928-5295.