by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jun 19, 2014 | Appalachian, Family
Tomorrow is West Virginia Day–the state’s 151st birthday. Once part of Virginia, western Virginia became its own state in 1863. Many residents of Virginia who lived west of the Allegheny Mountains weren’t happy when the state seceded from the Union in 1861....
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jun 16, 2014 | Family, Food
When I was a kid the unspoken rule was that girls wore dresses to church. Around the time I was eight, I got bold and dressed for church in a pair of slacks. When Dad told me to go put on a skirt I told him with GREAT confidence that God didn’t care what I wore....
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | May 29, 2014 | Appalachian, Family, Food, Friends
I was thinking about having some friends over to celebrate WV Day (June 20) and wondered what I could make that’s unique to my home state. Fried squirrel probably wouldn’t go over very well, I’m serving beans and cornbread at my launch party, and...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | May 19, 2014 | Family, Friends
Once in a while I need to do specific research for my novels. Where did Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show appear and when did they travel to Europe? What were the clothes and hats like in the 1950s? How much did a Plymouth Barracuda cost? Interesting stuff. But...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | May 8, 2014 | Appalachian, Family
Last week I wrote about being descended from David Phillips whose father-in-law fought in the Revolutionary War. The same booklet that reassures me I am, indeed, a Daughter of the American Revolution, also offers up some interesting tidbits about other ancestors...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | May 5, 2014 | Family
I’m digging into revisions on my second novel. One of my tasks is to make a character a little less unlikable. My editor commented that flawed is fine, but that sometimes the character dips a little too far into, well, being a jerk. I’m actually kind of...
