by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Apr 11, 2022 | Faith, Giving Thanks, holidays
My goodness. It’s almost Easter. If I don’t pause and consider the coming of a special day, I tend to feel like I’m missing out a bit. What if you just woke up and someone told you it was your birthday? Sure, it might be a nice surprise, but I’d be sorry I didn’t get...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Apr 4, 2022 | Giving Thanks, West Virginia
I met two West Virginians this past week right here in Lenoir, NC. We DIDN’T burst into “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” but in one situation we had an in-depth discussion of pepperoni rolls and in the second we talked about how Mountaineers have an...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 28, 2022 | Appalachian, Hiking, Nature, Writing
My favorite way to brainstorm a new story is wearing a pair of hiking shoes on a mountain trail with my dog snuffling through the leaves. I get the BEST ideas! Since our move a little north and east in our section of the Appalachian Mountains, we’ve been getting...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 21, 2022 | Nature, Poetry, Waiting
Spring is often a bit of a tease in the mountains. Early, warm days will trick you into putting out flowers and bedding plants only to see an April frost literally nip them in the bud. I have a spot all picked out for my tomatoes (maybe they won’t get blight in...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 14, 2022 | Appalachian, History, West Virginia, Writing
How do you write a satisfying story about a real event that simply does NOT have a happy ending? That’s what I tackled when I decided to write The Finder of Forgotten Things around the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster. I’ve long been haunted by tunnel...
