I was joking around with a librarian friend about how working a day job really cuts into my readerly and writerly activities. A regular job means I have less time to read, write, go to conferences, and just hang out with friends talking about books! She offered to write me a note to give to my boss if I need […]
Today is WV Day. But you probably already knew that. My home state is turning 156 and in honor of the day I thought I’d share some unusual facts about the Mountain State. The largest diamond ever found in North America was discovered in Peterson, WV, by the Jones family. They kept it in a cigar box for 14 years before realizing that it wasn’t just a piece of quartz, but rather a 34.5 carat diamond. About 75% of the state is covered by forests with nine state forests and 37 state parks. The New River in WV is actually among the world’s oldest rivers and runs from south to north instead of north to south like most other rivers in the U.S. The first woman to dunk a basketball in a college game was WV University center Georgeann Wells in 1985. In the northern panhandle the city of Weirton touches Ohio on one side and Pennsylvania in the other. In 1972 spelunker Bob Addis set the world record for stalagmite sitting in New World Caverns in WV. He stayed up there for 16 days. When it seceded from the Union, plans were to call the state Kanawha, but they went with a shortened version of Western Virginia since that’s what everyone was already calling it. And cursed natives to hear, “So you’re from Western Virginia–right?” from then on. Happy birthday, Mountain state!
Isn’t it funny how something utterly familiar will suddenly strike you as . . . odd? While having dinner with friends I was telling a story about a neighbor who used to give us fresh eggs and we realized that none of us knew why eggs come in dozens. Not to mention donuts. Not an urgent question, but one I […]
Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching at the WV Writers Conference in Ripley, WV. The last time I was at Cedar Lakes Conference Center I was attending Conservation Camp and I was 11 or 12-years-old. It was even better being there this time around! In addition to leading some classes, I got to take some. One was led […]
The best stories combine something the reader can relate to with something altogether new. The familiar paving the way for the unfamiliar. Lori’s latest story is set in places familiar to me in North Carolina. The Cape Fear River, the Yadkin Valley, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. I so enjoyed reading her descriptions of the lush (and abominably HOT) coast […]
My post is late today because I’m visiting family in West Virginia. And, since a picture is allegedly worth a thousand words, I’ll just leave you with a photo from a trip down the driveway this morning. My brother has long said the farm is a deer nursery and I think he’s right. Momma wasn’t far away, though, so I […]
Do You Have Influence? If you’ve enjoyed my books and maybe even recommended them to someone, I want to talk to you for a minute. I’m in need of a few good influencers to help promote When Silence Sings, which releases this coming November. To be clear up front, an influencer is different from a reviewer. Influencers are people who want to jump in and help promote an author’s book. If you’re interested in helping me get the word out about my latest story, then please click through and take my Influencer Quiz to learn what that would look like. If you’re chosen, you’ll receive an early copy of the book and can help launch novel #5 into the wide world! For years Serepta McClean has towered over the coal-filled hills of West Virginia, taking more than her share of trade–legal and illegal alike. She’s intent on securing the future of the McClean name, despite two unreliable sons and a long-standing feud with the Harpe clan that’s once again exploded in violence. While many fear her and many more hate her, few dare stand against her. Especially not someone like Colman Harpe—a railroad man with dreams of being a preacher. And yet it’s a reluctant Colman, her sworn enemy, who finds himself in Serepta’s territory, supposedly sent by God himself to preach stories of love and redemption. With the feud growing ever more dangerous and the entire region at risk, […]
