LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In 2015, 31-year-old Carson McKenna traveled from New York to Louisville and explored the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. What started off as an adventure with family, quickly turned into a new found passion for bourbon.
"When I visited Woodford Reserve, it was like walking into Narnia or something," McKenna said.
During that trip she knew that wouldn't be the last time she found herself in the bluegrass. She tells us her heart was always in Kentucky. That trip was also an opportunity for self discovery; a reminder of what she always wanted to be, a writer.
"I conceived an idea for a story of two bourbon distilleries that were next door to each other on the bourbon trail but they were enemies. I was so consumed by this idea I quit my job and I moved home and I lived with my mother for two years to write this story," McKenna said.
She caught the bug and after publishing her first book, Misercordias, she realized that she had something special. A story that touched peoples hearts, resonated with people of all different ages and a series that wasn't finished.
In May of 2019, she packed her bags and moved to a city where she knew no one, but she did know she needed to be surrounded by the culture, the bourbon and the people to get the second book right.
"There's a lot of gold to be mined by being here and being privy to the community narrative. It's a beautiful intersection of past and present and future all in one. I'm starting to feel like this is my city," McKenna said.
Now in the process of writing her second book, she is connecting Louisville's character and charm to each word on every page. Through her writing, and while working at Old Forester, she is falling more and more in love with this city every day.
"It's a testament to how incredible that this city is, that someone could feel so at home here in such a short period of time," McKenna said.
One goal in her writing is to make the people of Louisville connect with the places and feelings she has encountered. Places like Please and Thank You, Old Forester, The Brown Hotel, the Seelbach, and the KFC Yum Center are just a few of the local spots that make it into the story.
She left the first book on a major cliffhanger for her readers so she doesn't want to give too much away about the second book while it's still being written. But if you'd like to hop on the journey, you can purchase your own copy here.
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