While Shawn Cosby has gone on to international success and fame as a New York Times bestselling author, he hasn’t forgotten his roots. And it’s obvious that the people in Mathews haven’t forgotten him either.

Cosby, who writes under the name S.A. Cosby, was named grand marshal of this Saturday’s “Elf on a (Half) Shell” Mathews Christmas Parade. The parade will be held at 1 p.m., running from Thomas Hunter Middle School to Chesapeake Bank.

“I’m incredibly honored,” he said, after being named grand marshal. “I really do love where I come from.”

A 1992 graduate of Mathews High School, Cosby was born and raised in Mathews. The southern Virginia area has served as the setting for his best-selling crime fiction novels, details of which are very familiar to anyone who’s lived in Mathews and surrounding communities. Cosby sheds light on the farmers, watermen, teachers, students and life on the Chesapeake Bay in his books.

“Their stories do mean something to people,” he said.

Ev...