Local author Marilyn Schraff has built quite the name for herself with books about the Appalachian region, specifically southeastern Ohio.

Her newest book sticks to the same theme, this time detailing the history of Kitts Hill and the people who have called the tight-knit community home.

“It started out with me just trying to get some background information about the school,” Schraff said. “I was trying to compile a list of all of the people who had went there and get some history on the school and it grew from there.”

Schraff said, “Kitts Hill: A Rural Appalachian Community in Southern Ohio,” required endless hours of research and piecing together the history of the people who lived there and couldn’t have been done without some help.

“The entire Kitts Hill community got involved with this book.” Schraff said. “They were all a big help in me getting all of the information I needed. Everyone contributed and that was probably the most wonderful experience about this book, the way the Kitts Hill community just got behind it.”

The anticipation for the book is higher than any of her previous works, already taking more than 70 orders, she said.

The Briggs Lawrence County Public Library will host a book signing with Schraff from 2-4 p.m. Sept. 27. But, before that she is set to make an appearance on Tom Roten’s radio show on 800 WVHU on Sept. 19.

“It has been really exciting,” Schraff said. “It has definitely let me see the love. It’s a small community so all of us from there grew up very, very close. We went to the same schools, churches and things like that so it’s just really a tight knit special place. The excitement and support they’ve given me throughout the whole process shows how true that it.”