Community members were given an exclusive look into the life of local author Sally Wright and her journey through creating and publishing her book “Behind the Bonehouse.”

The author talk, meet-up and book signing was open to the public at the Wood County Public Library Monday night.

“We attend almost all of the author events at the library,” said community member Clif Boutelle, “I’ve known Sally locally and she’s a great writer, has interesting characters, and is a great author.”

The focus of the event was to give an insight into the mind of Wright and how she researched, wrote and published her Edgar Award Nominated story “Behind the Bonehouse,” book two in the Jo Grant series.

“Readers say that what they love most about her writing is her attention to detail,” said Mary Boone as she introduced Wright to listeners, “she has been compared to golden age writers like Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie.”

While Wright is the author of six books, some self-published, she spoke about how being a published author wasn’t always in her line of success.

“Painfully, it took me 17 years to get my first book published,” Wright said. “My first book was written in first-person blank verse, and there is not a huge market for this.”

Wright later described how she worked on her first novel for three years, and after a time of indirect promises with publishers, finally got the deal she was after. “It was a gift,” Wright said.

Research and creating characters was an important part of the process in bringing to life “Behind the Bonehouse.”

“I spent most of my days writing, revising and doing research for new characters” Wright told the audience, “it’s (“Behind the Bonehouse”) a complicated tale with lots of characters and twists. I really enjoyed writing it.”

In the past Wright has traveled to France to research for books she has written. While she has no plans to travel for a while, she says she is currently researching vet practices in the early 1960s for the possibility of writing again.

“Behind the Bonehouse” is considered an entertaining read but doesn’t fail to be relatable to readers.

“No one gets out of here without pain and hardships with themselves or loved ones,” Wright said when describing life.

Her books and writing not only capture the attention of readers, but communicate emotion. “What I learn can’t help but influence the way I write.”