One Book One Putnam author a local hit | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Author Sean Dietrich tells a childhood story before playing a tune on his acoustic guitar Thursday at the Florida School of the Arts in Palatka.
Fans wait in line at the Florida School of the Arts on Thursday to meet Dietrich during the One Book One Putnam finale.
Dietrich hugs a fan after the show.
Positively Putnam FL

A crowd of fans lined up – books in hand, cameras ready and smiles wide – to meet the star of One Book One Putnam’s finale Thursday.

Giddy book-lovers stood in the lobby of the Florida School of the Arts auditorium for the chance at one picture or an autograph from author, musician and comedian Sean Dietrich. One woman even brought at least six books for him to sign.

The Daily News columnist and author of “The Incredible Winston Browne” spent the night sharing tales from his Baptist upbringing, playing classics like Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and making time for his Putnam County fans.

Dietrich’s book, “The Incredible Winston Browne”’ was the featured novel for this year’s One Book season that started in January, but it ended on a high note Thursday, organizers said.

“You can see his talents far exceed just being an author,” One Book coordinator Bob Lee said after Dietrich’s show. “I think it’s stellar.”

Dietrich told the crowd that the book’s setting was based on Palatka because he really loves the area and always seems to run into Palatka residents no matter where he travels.

“I stayed in Times Square and I met three elderly ladies from Palatka, Florida. And they came up to me – they knew who I was – and we got a picture together,” Dietrich began his story.

“One of the women was 83 years old and she pinched my hind parts while I was saying ‘cheese.’ When questioned about it, she said, ‘When you’re my age, nobody cares.’”

Dietrich’s anecdote was met with a chorus of laughter from the crowd who came to see him Thursday.

Standing on the stage with just his acoustic guitar, he played the hymn “I’ll Fly Away,” which had the audience tapping their feet and clapping along. In between songs, he’d tell stories.

One crowd favorite was when his uncle helped him get his first guitar by hocking his mother’s wedding dress. Dietrich said he was a child, however, and didn’t quite realize that he would be selling a wedding dress in a store that turned out to be a pawn shop, but he sure wanted a guitar, the author laughed.

A young Dietrich chose the same guitar he played Thursday night and he couldn’t quite get the hang of guitar playing.

“I tried everything I could do to get a sound out. I flicked it, kicked it, smacked it. I turned it around and beat it like a drum,” Dietrich said. “Finally, mercifully, Uncle John, put strings on the thing. Made a world of difference, let me tell ya.”