NEW RELEASE – These Empty Places

My TENTH full-length novel will release on May 5, 2026 (yes, Cinco de Mayo!). I’m astonished and amazed that this dream of being an author has come so vividly true for me. I hope you enjoy this third North Carolina novel inspired by little known aspects of the...

Selah Award Finalists

I’m so delighted to see Appalachian historical fiction having a moment in this year’s Selah Awards. Plus, Cindy Sproles and Ann Gabhart are wonderful friends and encouragers! Celebrating together. Appalachian-style.  

History Repeats Itself

CBS Sunday Morning just reran this piece from last December. If you’ve read The Finder of Forgotten Things, you’ll recognize the mention of silicosis. It’s now cropping up as a complicating factor in today’s young miners with black lung....

Out and About

Typically, I find myself doing writerly events close to the release of a new novel. But I actually have quite a few events staggered between now and the release of These Tangled Threads on April 2. Check ’em out and come see me! October 13, 2023 – Past...

That Country Roads Song

West Virginia has FOUR state songs. If that seems like a lot, Tennessee has something like a dozen. I’ve always sung “The West Virginia Hills,” when entering my home state. It’s been an official state song since 1963. But the song most people...