I met Leanna at a book event in Flat Rock, NC. We were seated together behind a table piled with our books hoping attendees would flock to buy them! And when we weren’t being flocked, we got to talk and discovered much in common beyond being writers. Now, Leanna’s stories aren’t like mine–her latest features a serial killer! And yet, […]
A while back I wrote about the blight that eradicated the American chestnut in Appalachia. There’s a new blight happening now–the wooly adeligid. These non-native, invasive insects are doing their best to wipe out all the hemlock trees. While measures are being taken to fight back including insecticidal soap, horticultural oils, and predatory beetles, a lot of trees have already […]
Nope. Didn’t win. Except, maybe I did in a way. Oh, I don’t have one of those sparkly glass awards to sit on my desk, but I sure as shooting felt like a winner last week at the Christy Award Gala and in the days following. MY WINS: I got to wear a fancy dress. It’s vintage–from the 1960s–and it […]
I’ve written potbellied stoves into a couple of my stories. You’ll still find them plenty of places in Appalachia and I have direct experience with two. Our one-room church had a potbellied stove on each side of the sanctuary. It was a deacon’s job to come to church early in the winter to get the coal fires going and knock […]
While my latest story technically releases tomorrow, we held the launch party for it at Sassafras on Sutton–a wonderful bookstore in Black Mountain, NC–yesterday. While I regularly speak in front of groups ranging from 10 to 200 for my job, talking about MY book to a group including MY friends is a whole other kettle of fish. At events like […]
I know Thursdays usually focus on something Appalachian, but hey, When Silence Sings is an Appalachian story, so that counts. Right? Thanks to everyone who entered to win a copy of my sixth novel by sharing what you’d like six of. It was such fun reading and responding to all your comments. Pygmy goats was one of my very favorite […]
I was astonished to see one book published. Now I’m about to see my fifth novel released to the world. Well, at least a slice of the world! One week from tomorrow is the official release date. I’ll be holding a launch party at Sassafras on Sutton–a charming bookstore in Black Mountain, NC–on Sunday, November 3. Here’s hoping readers like […]
