Local author Mary Sikes will discuss, sign books Saturday

Book author Mary Montague Sikes has many ties to Fredericksburg and numerous memories from her childhood spent there. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, Sikes will return to the city Saturday, Oct.22 from 2 - 4 p.m. to talk with readers and sign copies of her books at the Griffin Bookshop & Coffee Bar, 723 Caroline Street. Earlier in the day, she will speak to local writers at the Fredericksburg Writers Group at Salem Church Library, 2607 Salem Church Road from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
Jungle Jeopardy, Sikes' latest book in the Passenger to Paradise series, grew out of her fascination with jungles. An artist as well as a writer, several years ago she created a series of large, jungle-related paintings. "Jungle Beat" on the cover of her novel is a painting from that series of work.
An adventure story, Jungle Jeopardy is set in Central America where a multitude of Maya ruins remain hidden beneath giant overgrowths of jungle foliage. An unplanned trip to the ruins uncovered at Palenque in southern Mexico inspired part of Sikes' story. While vacationing in Huatulco on the Pacific coast of Mexico, she, her husband, and a friend chartered a small airplane to fly into a grass air field located near the Palenque ruins. Climbing among the rocky remains and entering the ancient buildings once hidden by the jungle, Sikes gazed across the wild dense tropical rain forests of Guatemala and wondered about the lost history of the ruins. While there she took dozens of photographs and turned many of them into a series of large Maya ruins paintings.
Later, she researched the Maya and was shocked to learn that although the Guatemalan Highlands were home to the Maya from pre-classic times, little is known today about their culture because books and records of their civilization were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors. She also found out that of the more than 100 archeological sites in Guatemala, only a few have been uncovered. That started her thinking about "what if" Dana, her heroine from Secrets by the Sea, and Clifton, the hero from that book, wound up in Central America and found several of those lost ruins. The resulting story is a quest to uncover a treasure with some "Indiana Jones" type exploits along the way.
After majoring in psychology and minored in education at the University of Mary Washington, Sikes studied painting, sculpture, ceramics, and printmaking at the College of William and Mary. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in painting at Virginia Commonwealth University.
"A Journey to the Maya Ruins," a selection of paintings from Sikes' series of work, will be on view at the W. T. Robinson/Sture G. Olsson Fine Arts Center in West Point from November 29 to December 20. Learn more about her artwork at http://tinyurl.com/5v6pd65.
In addition to Jungle Jeopardy, Sikes has three hardcover non-fiction books being released this fall. The Jefferson Hotel: A Snapshot in Time, The Homestead: A Snapshot in Time, and Hilltop House: A Snapshot in Time will be available soon.
Sikes' father, William Montague Hudson, was a native of Orange County.