WINGATE — Kris Holloway, the author of “Monique and the Mango Rains,” will give a free public lecture at Wingate University today at 9:30 a.m. in Austin Auditorium. The book was chosen as the common reading assignment at Wingate this academic year. Holloway served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa, from 1989 to 1991. Her two years spent with a midwife in Mali inspired her to write the book “Monique and the Mango Rains.” The story is about a friendship with an African woman who transformed her life. For more information, contact Marisa Wheeling at 704-233-8129.