BY FAYE M. DASEN

Features Editor

Karen White has known she wanted to be a writer since playing hooky in the seventh grade to read "Gone With the Wind."

White, whose 15th book, "Sea Change," has just been released, will be in town Friday, June 15, at noon to discuss her book over lunch.

"This is a ticketed event, with lunch provided by Southern Whey," says Kimberly Daniels, manager of The Country Bookshop. "Tickets, which are $20, include lunch and a copy of Karen's book."

In "Sea Change," Ava Whalen struggles for a sense of belonging. Her marriage to Matthew Frazier, a child psychologist, takes her to St. Simon's Island, Ga., where she eventually discovers that her history and the island's are intertwined in a way she never suspected.

White, in spite of aspiring to be a writer, pursued a degree in business, graduating cum laude from Tulane University.

"Ten years later, I fulfilled my dream, writing my first book, 'In the Shadow of the Moon,' which was published in August 2000," says White.

White currently writes what she refers to as "grit lit" - Southern women's fiction - and has recently expanded her horizons into writing a best-selling mystery series set in Charleston, S.C.

"I hail from a long line of Southerners, but grew up in London, England," she says.

She currently lives near Atlanta, with her husband and two children, and a spoiled Havanese dog (who appears in several of her books), Quincy. When not writing, she spends her time reading, scrapbooking, playing piano and avoiding cooking.

Among her other books are "The Beach Trees," "Falling Home," "On Folly Beach," "The Lost Hours" and "The Memory of Water.

Her Tradd Street mystery series includes "The House on Tradd Street," "The Girl on Legare Street" and "The Strangers on Montagu Street."

She is currently contracted with Penguin for four more novels.

Contact Faye Dasen at fdasen@ thepilot.com.