Appalachian Blessings

In November 2012 I got a call from a literary agent offering representation. A little over a year and a half later, in August 2014, my first novel hit bookshelves. Since then, I've been astonished by the number of people who have taken the time to visit Wise, WV, and...

As an author, I hear lots of comments and questions over and over again. My least favorite is when I say I'm a writer/author/novelist and the person I'm talking to says, "Oh," then changes the subject. But there are several things I LOVE to hear so I thought I'd share...

No, I'm not talking about costumes, although those were often homemade. I'm talking about treats. When we went trick or treating in Laurel Fork, WV, we got our fair share of store-bought candy. But there were also plenty of homemade treats. Of course, we knew everyone...

Last week I took some time off work, but I have a bad habit of tending to just one or two things regardless. On Tuesday, I needed to slip into work to handle a quick task. My plan was to arrive during staff meeting, ghost in and out, and no one would be the wiser....

More than a decade ago my husband and I had breakfast in Oxford, MS, as part of a foodways conference. On the table that morning was a jar of apple butter. As soon as we tasted it, we agreed it was the BEST we'd ever eaten. For me, it hearkened back to the apple...

I'm enjoying a bit of a stay-cation this week. I typically try to take some time off in October so I can enjoy this favorite season of mine and this year I think I pegged it. Normally, peak color would have been last weekend, but with warmer, drier weather, fall seems...

The apples have fallen, the pumpkin’s carved, and the leaves are turning orange and yellow and red. Must be time for the nut harvest! Of course, if we don’t hurry, the critters will beat us to it. Growing up on the farm, we had walnuts, chestnuts, and filberts...

When Thistle was a puppy, she had a penchant for chewing things. Sticks, shoes, area rugs--whatever. Once, while out for a walk, she spotted a green, plastic cup on the side of the road. I’m not sure what qualities she looked for in shreddable trash, but whatever it...