by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jun 6, 2022 | Appalachian, Family, Memories, Nature
A new deck is going up on our house as I write this. And I can hardly wait to sit out there in the cool of the evening. At our last house, my husband and I would often sit on the front porch steps, chatting lazily, watching Thistle poke around, and waving at passing...
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 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...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 21, 2021 | Appalachian, Family, Language, West Virginia
Today’s post is a continuation from last week. Sharing more delightful tidbits of our Appalachian way of speaking! NOT AS WRONG AS YOU THINK – Appalachian dialect can be labeled uneducated or backwards. Maybe folks need to rethink that one . . ....
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 14, 2021 | Appalachian, History
Appalachia has a unique and, I think, incredibly special way of speaking. It hearkens back to Elizabethan England with a solid Scottish underpinning and even a dash of Chaucer now and again. I don’t use TOO much dialect in my stories since it can bog readers...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 22, 2021 | Appalachian, folklore cures, Nature, superstition
CATCH A FALLING LEAF – Today is the first day of autumn–yay! I LOVE fall with cooler days, blue skies, glorious leaves, and apple picking. But TODAY is extra special in Appalachia because this is your chance to guarantee you stay healthy this winter (and...
