(Penn State)

Ron Rash is the next author in the Virtual South Bound Lecture Series.

Next Thursday at 6 PM, he will talk online about his latest book "In the Valley," a collection of short stories and a novella based on his New York Times bestseller "Serena."

Ron is a two-time winner of the O. Henry Prize who teaches at Western Carolina University in North Carolina - and he belongs to the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

I spoke with him - and Lynda LeVan, executive director of Southern Lit Alliance, which hosts the South Bound lecture series.