SCOOBA — Former Meridian resident and author Hewitt Clarke will sign copies of his latest book, “Dark Secrets: Good and Evil in the Deep South,” in the library on East Mississippi Community College’s Scooba campus on Thursday, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Students and the public are invited to attend the free event, which is expected to last an hour or more.

Clarke, who grew up in Meridian and now resides in Houston, Texas, is a researcher and author who has written nine books, including “Bloody Kemper,” which chronicles a deadly feud between two prominent Kemper County families and a sinister doctor said to have poisoned his patients to collect their life insurance payments.

“I have always been fascinated with Scooba and am looking forward to my visit there,” Clarke said.

Clarke, who will talk about his new book, will have copies of all the books he has written available.

“Dark Secrets: Good and Evil in the Deep South” is about a former Meridian resident convicted in a 2002 shooting death in Marietta, Ga., Clarke said, and also provides a historical narrative of two families with ties to Meridian.

The preface to the book has this to say: “’Dark Secrets’ is a true story, a tale of two families — the Broadheads, rich and adventurous with a blood line to Cherokees, and the Coopers, high-toned and brilliant with Choctaw blood, and along the way, both families met with great achievement and tragic failure.”

EMCC art instructor Lisa Spinks invited Clarke to EMCC to conduct the book signing following a chance meeting.

“I thought it would be great to have a local author come speak at our campus,” Spinks said. “I thought it would help bring some culture to our community.”

Clarke will also host a “Wine and Cheese with Hewitt Clarke” book signing Wednesday at Tampico Bay Restaurant in Columbus beginning at 6:30 p.m. A similar event will take place at Weidmann’s restaurant in Meridian on Saturday at 2 p.m.

For more information about Clarke and the books he has written, visit his website at www.rebelwriter.com.