Mae Rodney celebrates release of latest book, ‘Sins of the Father’
By Mark Moss, Contributing Writer
“Idle hands are not good as we travel through our later years,” said Dr. Mae L. Rodney, who, at 80, is following through on that dictum by writing books and stories. Since retiring from Winston-Salem State University in 2015 as director of library services, Rodney has had several books published, including a nonfiction book that stands as a personal accomplishment because it portrays a history deeply entwined with hers: “Mill Grove, a Forgotten History.” Published in 2025, the book details the history of Mill Grove School, the only high school in Durham County, North Carolina, in the early 1900s that served “colored” children.
Rodney is a native of that community and like her, many of the residents went on to excel in various occupations. The building that housed the school is a distant memory, but the book has led to her induction into the inaugural class of the Merrick-Moore/Mill Grove Alumni Association Hall of Fame, representing Academic and Research Distinction.
Merrick-Moore High School became the default school for southern Durham County’s Black children when more public funds were allotted, and enrollment outgrew the Mill Grove facility, which was eventually demolished. (The city of Durham operated multiple public schools dedicated to educating Black children.)
The two current works on her website, MRodneybooks.com, are intricately plotted mysteries that keep the reader turning the pages and feature the fictional detective Larry Black of the Twin City Police Department. These self-published fictional plums are whodunit masterpieces. Murder, intrigue and plot twists make these stories fly. Rodney’s fictional detective, Larry Black, leads the search for the murderer of a well-known musician who’s found dead on a middle-class street in “Death on Birdsong Lane.” He’s also in charge of the investigation into a murder on a campus in “Sins of the Father.” Both stories portray well-drawn characters that help propel the narratives
“Sins of the Father” was published this month and Rodney was at Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors on Sept. 26 promoting it at the booth for Winston-Salem Writers, where she has been a long-time member. She also has another novel, “Matrimony, Money, and Murder,” marinating on her computer and waiting for her to decide when it’s ripe to launch.
“Fiction writing is easier,” Rodney said, “because I can exercise my imagination. I come up with characters and plots that surprise even me.” Rodney continued, “But I must admit that I find writing nonfiction a bit more rewarding because you must take time and do lots of research to ensure you accurately present the facts. When I finished ‘Mill Grove,’ it was awesome,” she said.
“If I can put my fictional characters to bed for a while, I’ll find the time to start another nonfiction project. Writing nonfiction books confirms that I remember how to do research, which is a very different skill from letting your imagination take control of your thoughts,” said Rodney.
She’s a master at choosing her words, so they come with some hesitation. That might be the result of some 30 years of administering a major HBCU library that served about 4,000 students at Winston-Salem State University. Running a library, like any campus department, requires diplomacy and resilience. She had – and still has — an ocean of both, which explains her longevity in the discipline and also explains not finding the time to write books until retirement.
In addition to being an administrator, Rodney was also the wife of a well-known and respected, African-American Moravian pastor, Rev. Dr. Cedric Rodney, who led St. Philips Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, the oldest Black church in the state. After 30 years of marriage, the pastor died in 2012. Being a boss at work and an always-on-duty pastor’s wife required 24/7 devotion, leaving little free time to explore outside activities – like writing books.
She has, however, no regrets about those busy days. “Looking back on it now, I did the best I could to make the library relevant to the university community. We expanded the collection for undergraduate and graduate-level studies while integrating information technology. But I must admit that what I’m most proud of is creating the WSSU Friends of the Library organization. Many colleges have boosters for their teams; our FOL was the fundraiser and cheerleader for the library.”
As an undergraduate earning a degree in history at North Carolina Central University, Rodney got sidetracked by library science. She was already working in the school’s library to help with tuition when an advisor suggested she minor in library science because “You’ll never be out of a job,” Rodney said the advisor told her. When she graduated with a bachelor’s in history and later a master’s in library science, she knew she didn’t want to teach. The school’s library director offered her a full-time job, and Rodney got hooked on the bookshelves and the backroom mechanics of running a repository for learning.
From there, she went on to earn a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill and to accept what fate had laid out for her: A career opening the doors for others to learn at WSSU, and now, opening the doors to … more books to write!
Like many older adults aware of the benefits of healthy activities, Rodney exercises regularly. She walks through the woods near her Clemmons, North Carolina, home and has found that she not only sleeps better at night, but the hikes also stir ideas for her stories.
“I’ve got more works planned and I’m going to keep on doing it until God says it’s time to stop,” Rodney said, laughing.
Mark Moss is a former reporter and newspaper editor. He is currently editing books and completing a novel.