The Writer and His Refuge

Mr. Conroy is famous for having mined his own life and that of his family for material from which to craft his earlier novels "The Great Santini," "The Lords of Discipline," "The Prince of Tides" and "Beach Music." Readers—or moviegoers who've seen the films based on the books—know of his constant ­uprooting because of his father's career as a fighter pilot; his changing feelings about his alma mater, the Citadel; his earlier marriages; his time in Paris and Rome; and—thanks to his cookbook/memoir—his appreciation of food. But I've asked to speak with both Mr. Conroy and Ms. King because I want them to tell me about their time writing in Highlands, N.C., my hometown, and maybe reclaim a little of Mr. Conroy's fame for the Tar Heel State. After all, he lived in both Belmont and New Bern for periods during his youth, and he's been a fan of Thomas Wolfe since his junior year of high school, when his English teacher gave him a copy of "Look Homeward, Angel," then drove him to Asheville to retrace Wolfe's ­footsteps.