by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Nov 14, 2022 | Nature, Research, superstition
I love mysteries and unexplained phenomenon. Miracles even. I’ve long been familiar with the Brown Mountain Lights–a mysterious occurrence people sometimes see on a mountain near where we’re now living in NC. I’ve even been to Brown Mountain Beach...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 29, 2022 | books, Research, Waiting, Writing
Once upon a time, when I signed a new contract, I’d get a serious looking packet in the mail with lots of legalese. Once satisfied, I’d sign the contract with my favorite pen and mail it back to the publisher for a countersignature. These days, I get a...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | May 2, 2022 | Family, History, Memories, Research, Writing
I get so much of my inspiration from family history. I’m currently brainstorming a story set in the early 1900s–a little further back in time than I usually write. Arthur is one of eight children who’s essentially given away because his family is...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 31, 2022 | books, Research, Writing
So many readers loved little Emmaline in When Silence Sings. She’s the child Serepta McLean unexpectedly takes in after her family is killed in a crash. I introduced Emmaline in part because Serepta needed some hint of softness–something that would help...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Sep 2, 2021 | books, Research, Writing
When I was shaping Eugenia (Gainey) Floyd’s character for The Finder of Forgotten Things, I decided to make her the postmistress of Oak Hill, WV. Since postal counters were often housed in general stores, I put her behind a counter in the back of an imaginary...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 12, 2021 | Appalachian, Food, Research
Among my Appalachian research treasures is a copy of the 8th edition of Old Timey Recipes from 1975 as collected by Phyllis Connor. Inside the front cover someone wrote, “West Virginia, August 1976.” Since I would have been just shy of five years old then,...
