by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 31, 2019 | Appalachian, History, Writing
In researching my current novel I stumbled across a story about a 1932 murder in West Virginia (ah, rabbit trails, writers love ’em!). A 31-year-old woman named Mamie Thurman was found dead on Trace Mountain in Logan County that June. A deaf-mute boy found her...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 28, 2019 | Waiting, Writing
My next novel, When Silence Sings, releases November 5. I know, I know, that’s SO FAR away. It’s like my birthday, Christmas morning, and vacation all rolled into one big, long WAIT. Of course, I also know my grandmother was right when she told me that...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 24, 2019 | Appalachian, Food, Writing
A reviewer recently commented that she really enjoyed one of my books but took issue with my use of you’uns instead of y’all. Now, in both of our defenses, I’d like to point out that she thought the story was set in Wise, Virginia. Now, that’s...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 21, 2019 | Appalachian, Memories, Writing
Like children, I’m not supposed to have a favorite character. But Frank Post (along with the Talbot sisters) stole my heart. Frank is a blend of so many men I knew growing up. Men who were tough, flawed, opinionated, and most of all tender-hearted beneath those...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 14, 2019 | Appalachian, Memories, Writing
This year will be the fifth anniversary of the release of my first novel–Miracle in a Dry Season. Which is kind of hard for me to believe! Half a decade as a published author. And while I fall in love with each and every character I write, Casewell and Perla...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 10, 2019 | Appalachian, History, Writing
I love researching my stories. Especially when I turn up something fun that I just flat out didn’t know. Like that John Henry, the mythical “steel driving man” of folk ballads, took on a steam drill in southern West Virginia. My next novel, When...
