A former Chocowinity resident and local author will return to Beaufort County this weekend to promote and sign copies of his new book. On Saturday, Dr. Buck Rish will sign copies of his latest novel “Dawg Knows: The Secret of Sgt. Penton” at the Lemonade Art Gallery in Washington.

His ninth novel, “Dawg Knows,” is a work of historical fiction inspired by the life of a general practitioner in the mountain town of Glen Alpine. Including locations throughout the mountains and the piedmont, the tale follows the story of Ned, the illegitimate son of a whisky-swilling prostitute, who is mistaken for a missing Army sergeant who was once the master of a dog called Dawg.

“The dog is the portent of the story,” Rish said. “The dog knows the mystery of the Army veteran that he had been given to. The veteran disappears, deserts the dog and the doctor ends up adopting the dog and using him as a companion. The dog knows the secret of what happened to this sergeant.”

In a tale of mistaken identity, blackmail and fraud, readers are treated to an intriguing storyline that unfolds in the heartlands of North Carolina. The story is based in part on the author’s father-in-law.

“It features some current topics such as veterans and veterans hospitals,” Rish said. “The story winds around and ends up back in Glen Alpine.”

Cover art for the book was created by Washington artist Carol Mann, who will also be on hand during the signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It will kind of be a three-way book signing, which is unusual,” Rish said.

Buck Rish, MD, is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Vanderbilt University. After his military career at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, he continued practice and research in micro-neurosurgery as Professor of Clinical Neurosurgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia. He wrote many articles during his medical career, and now writes novels which reflect the realism, humor and compassion of a physician, according to his bio.