Murder She Wrote

If you're a fan of murder mysteries or true crime or both, in the authors' tent on Oct. 5, you'll likely find a book that interests you.

Some authors will have books involving actual murders. Pamela Chase Hain (who will also be singing at the festival with Ladies of the Lake) will have Murder in the State Capitol: The Biography of Lt. Col. Robert Augustus Alson (1832-1879). Read more about Hain and her book in this article from Laker Weekly.

 

Donna G. Smith will have Murder in Mayberry, True Crime inAmerica's Hometown, Mount Airy, NC,

a collection of 25 stories of murders committed in Mount Airy from 1892-1976.

UPDATE: Donna G. Smith will be unable to make it to this year's festival.

Was a murder actually committed in the "Murder Hole" in Catawba, VA? You can read some of the legends in a Roanoke Times article here. Or you can buy the book from author Marian McConnell, who owns the property on which the infamous cave is located. The Roanoke Star published this article about the book in March.  

As for fiction, Sally Roseveare (mentioned in an earlier post) writes Smith Mountain Lake murder mysteries, and she'll have both her novels with her on October 5—Secrets at Spawning Run and Secrets at Sweetwater Cove. She's currently working on her third book in the series. Maybe she'll have that one in 2014.

     

Not only can you buy books at the festival, but you can also talk to the authors about why they wrote their books.

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Memoirs 2013

The authors' tent features a lot of books about local and regional history. Sometimes this history is up-close and personal—the authors have either lived it or folks they know lived it. If you're looking for this kind of personal perspective on history, you're in luck—a lot of our authors have published memoirs of their lives in the Blue Ridge region.

Some authors are returning from last year: Tom Howell will again have his mother's memoir, Life With Charlie, which chronicles Lillian Hannabass Howell's memories of growing up in Moneta before the lake was built. Charles Lytton will have his three books about growing up on River Ridge: New River: bonnets, apple butter, and moonshine,  The Cool Side of the Pillow, and The View From the White Rock. Oma Boyd will not only have Round This Mountain, but also a new collection of mountain stories, Blue Ridge Shadows. Avis Turner will have In the Land Where Fairies Cried Tears of Stone, her grandmother's memories of growing up in the Patrick County/Henry County area.

Peggy Shifflett will return for the third year with her four memoirs of growing up in Appalachia: The Red Flannel Rag, Mom's Family Pie, The Living Room Bed, and On the Way to Tow Town. And we'll have some moonshine memories too—Morris Stephenson will have his popular A Night of Makin' Likker book and he'll be accompanied by Jack Allen Powell, who'll have some of his memoirs of being an agent. At his table, Morris will also have a few other buddies who'll be glad to tell you their moonshine stories.

We'll also have some authors making their first visit to Mountain Spirits. Retired physicist Aaron McAlexander will have his two memoirs, The Last One Leaving Mayberry and So Much to Learn. (There really used to be a Mayberry in SW Virginia. Aaron spent time there with his grandparents when he was a child. He attended the Meadows of Dan School where there was so much to learn.)

Otis L. Lee, Jr., a retired attorney from the Charlottesville area, will have his print copies of his brand new e-book memoir, From South Boston to Cambridge: The Making of One Philadelphia Lawyer. Lee, who can trace his family back to Patrick Moon of Halifax County in 1795, dedicates his book "to all the forgotten and unsung members of the Lee, Penick, Williams, and Moon family." In his memoir, Lee traces his family history, tells of his childhood in Charlottesville in the 1960s, and tells many of his personal accomplishments.

Finally, Jean Schaeffer will have copies of This Pleasant Land, written by her late father, Max S. Thomas. While this book is about area history, it's also memoir of a sort.

The book, a 250-year history of the Franklin, Floyd, and Patrick County border areas is based on stories that Thomas heard from his elders while he was growing up. As Max Thomas wrote: 

“I am a fifth-generation descendant of the first settlers in this part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I have lived all of my life on the same piece of land on a high plateau on the Floyd–Franklin County line in southwestern Virginia. Since I was a boy, I have been told stories about my ancestors and their neighbors, men and women who came to and lived in a pleasant and rugged land during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. No matter who told the stories, they were always the same. It is also my story, for I was born in 1908 and witnessed events through most of the twentieth century, including the building of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s. . . . So in 1997 at age 89, I began writing this history in longhand.”

If you enjoy regional history and mountain memoirs, you'll enjoy visiting with some of the authors under the big tent.

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Novels

While a lot of books at the 2013 Mountain Spirits Festival will be regional history and memoir, some will be fiction. Here are some—but not all—of the novels you'll find under the Authors Tent. (Clicking the title takes you to the book's Amazon page; clicking the author's name takes you to his or her website.)

Three books in the above picture are new this year—Don Fink's Escape to the Sky, Franz Beisser's Red Solstice, and Joanne M. Anderson's A Noble Spirit—and all three authors will be visiting the festival for their first time.

Several authors are returnees. Charles Shea Lemone will have his Corner Pride and The Spring of Unexpected Consequences. Barbara Roberts will also return with What a Christmas! and Not in my Wildest Dreams.

Another group of returning authors have novels are set in the area or have settings inspired by the area. Sally Roseveare's two murder mysteries, Secrets at Spawning Run and Secrets of Sweetwater Cove, take place at Smith Mountain Lake. While Sally mentions some real places in her novel, the subdivisions where her main characters live are fictional. Becky Mushko's Patches on the Same Quilt is set in Penhook and her middle grade novel Stuck is partially set in Union Hall, but Rocky Mount and Bridgewater Plaza are also mentioned. Susan Coryell's cozy mystery A Red, Red Rose is set at Moore Mountain Lake, which bears a strong resemblance to Smith Mountain Lake. Rodger Doss's Shine is set in various places in Franklin County.

If you're looking for fiction, surely you'll find something you'll like at Mountain Spirits Festival. Stop by the tent, chat with the authors, and take a look at their books.

Moonshine Memories

At least two authors at the 2013 Mountain Spirit Festival will have books involved with spirits. Moonshine, that is. Both authors are excellent spinners of yarns.

One is Morris Stephenson, who was taking orders for his moonshine memoir in the authors tent last year. This year, he'll have the book, A Night of Makin' Likker.

A Night of Makkin' Likker recounts Stephenson's adventures with both revenuers and moonshiners. As a reporter for the Franklin County newspaper, he was sometimes asked to accompany agents when they destroyed a still. Many of the pictures in his book were taken to illustrate the news stories he wrote about the raids. Because he had developed a rapport with both sides of the law, sometimes moonshiners themselves told him stories or showed him their operations. Many pictures of these adventures are in A Night of Makkin' Likker.

If you stop at his table to chat with him, odds are good Morris Stephenson will tell you a few moonshine tales. If you don't have his book and you're interested in Franklin County history, you'll want to get a copy.

Morris Stephenson chats with Rex Stephenson
 at 2012 Mountain Spirits Festival.

Update: Charles Lytton will be unable to attend this year's festival.

The other teller of tales is Charles Lytton, a true Appalachian (which he will tell you is Apple-LATCH-un, not Apple-LAY-shun) who will have his latest book, The View from the White Rock, at the 2013 Mountain Spirits Festival. The book has several references to moonshine, both drinking and buying.

Lytton at the Salem Museum.
Note another Apple-LATCH-un author in the background.

Lytton, who was a hit at the first two Mountain Spirits Festivals, will also have copies available of his two previous books about growing up on River Ridge: New River: bonnets, apple butter, and moonshine and  The Cool Side of the Pillow. Both are filled with good stories, some of which are a little far-fetched even though Lytton swears they're true. All three books are delightful down-home looks at Lytton's sometimes rough and rugged boyhood and early manhood along the New River.

One of his chapters is titled "You Can Get Killed About Anywhere," but a lot of the other chapters involve Lytton's taking risks, having hair-raising adventures, and escaping bad situations. In "Diana's First Airplane Ride and maybe My Last," he recounts when an amateur pilot took him and his daughter for a ride in a small plane on a very cold day. The kid loved it; Lytton felt lucky to return alive. In "The Same House, But There was no Ham," he tells of having to heed the call of nature before dawn while squirrel hunting and locating a nearby outhouse (p.132):

Of course, in The View from the White Rock, Lytton mentions many of his buddies who shared his escapades, moonshine, molasses-making, and trucks. In "Damn, Them Old Trucks Would Run Like a Skeert Hant," he recounts an adventure hauling heifers to the Narrows livestock market, looking for cheap liquor with his buddies, and injuring his arm when the driver swerves a little too close to a tree. "How to Unload a Sow Hog" also involves trucks, livestock, and drinking—all the stuff of good Appalachian yarns. And there are a lot more.

Charles Lytton with Books at 2012 Galax Festival

Lytton might have a college degree or two, but it hasn't hurt his ability to tell a good down-home story. If you like down-home Apple-LATCH-un stories, you'll want to take a look at his books—or at least set a spell and talk to Lytton.

Parts of the info about Charles Lytton were appeared in this blog post: http://peevishpen.blogspot.com/2013/01/appalachian-views.html

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Authors Tent September 29

The 2012 Mountain Spirits Festival is history. Everyone seemed to have a pretty good time, and the weather cooperated, too. Rain stopped a couple of hours before the festival began and didn't start until nearly an hour after the festival was over.

In anticipation of the crowd, authors started setting up early. Ibby Greer was the first one there. Her late husband's book, The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1934, was popular. Franklin County is, after all, the moonshine capital of the world.

Some exhibitors brought their assistants. Kayleigh had breakfast while watching Beverly Merritt's display.

Shea Lemone set up his two novels next to Curtis Nestor's non-fiction book.

Despite his moonshine jug, Charles Lytton had the most dignified display—but his two books of memoirs are strictly down-home.

Veronica Church, a member of Lake Writers, had some jars of moonshine-related merchandise for sale.

Morris Stephenson didn't have his moonshine memoir in time for the festival, but he had a poster of the cover, and he took orders for the soon-to-be-published book. Lots of folks reserved a copy.

Before long, the tent was full of authors, and a crowd gathered. James Nagy's new book, Franklin County, was the most popular one. He always had a line in front of his table.

Here's the line. Some folks bought several copies of Franklin County.

While authors signed books, bands played beside the authors tent. Aspen Black and her group Empowered were the first musicians to entertain the crowd.

After Aspen's group had finished, Charles Lytton told the crowd a few stories.

And then Morris Stephenson told a few stories.

During the day, many book lovers visited the authors' tent and many authors fraternized with each other. Below, Keith Ferrell chatted with Jim Morrison and Cara Modisett.

Keith also visited with Fred First.

Morris visited folks at the Appalachian literature table—Lynn Salsi, Rex Stephenson, and Tina Hanlon.

Later Rex visited Morris's display.

Karen Hall visited with Ibby Greer.

Peggy Shifflett and Ethel Born, both members of Roanoke Valley Pen Women, conversed.

Dwight Hayes had both his photography and his book at his table.

Lots of folks stopped to admire Dwight's photo of the train. 

Judith Riker Damon's display included the pictures that she painted to illustrate A Genteel Spy.

Three writers groups were represented: Lake Writers (far left), Valley Writers (middle), and Piedmont Writers (right). 

Among other books, the Piedmont Writers were selling their anthology.

Some random pictures under the tent:

Several dogs attended the festival. This cute little dog came with Judith Riker Damon.

But this friendly girl escaped from her nearby home and came to see what was happening. Sally Roseveare, one of the Lake Writers, caught her. Sally's two Smith Mountain Lake murder mysteries feature a black labrador. Soon the owner came and claimed the escapee. 

The day ended with music and some very talented young cloggers.

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Note: Not all the authors and their books were pictured above—just a representative sampling.

Authors Tent 2012

If you're shopping for early Christmas presents of the literary persuasion, the Authors Tent will be a great place for you to visit. Here are just a few of the books that will be available: 

We'll have a little something for everyone—but we'll have a lot of memoir, regional history, and cookbooks. Writers groups as well as individual authors will be in the tent: 

The Lake Writers: Mike Davis, already featured in this post, will have romantic suspense and science fiction. Sally Roseveare will have her two Smith Mountain lake murder mysteries, Secrets at Spawning Run and Secrets at Sweetwater Cove. Ginny Brock will have her recently published memoir, By Morning's Light. Tom Howell, a psychic investigator, will have some steam punk stories and ghost stories, and his mother Lillian's memoir, Life With Charlie. He'll also have some prints of the Boones Mill depot for sale. Jane Smith will have her Christian novel, Finding Amelia. Sue Coryell won't be able to attend but her book. A Red, Red Rose, will be available at the Lake Writers Table. Veronica Church doesn't have a book, but she'll have some moonshine shirts in jars, some moonshine cornhole bags, and some wine bottle ring book marks.

Valley Writers:
Jim Morrison (who is a member of both Valley and Lake Writers) will have his WWII history book, Bedford Goes to War. Rumor has it that there aren't many left in the current press run. Linda Cheek will have her novel, Pain Doc, and Dick Raymond might be able to make it with his Civil War poetry collection, Ballads in Blue and Gray.

Piedmont Writers: Avis Turner  will have her new memoir, In the Land Where Fairies Cried Tears of Stone, Mary Farris will have her poetry, Dorothy Carter will have her young adult novel Facing Fallout, and Margaret Atkins will have her two memoirs—the latest is Two's Company.

Virginia Writers Club: Had to cancel.

Many people have already bought James M. Nagy's brand new book, Franklin County, and he'll be glad to sign your copy. If you haven't yet bought Franklin County, he'll have copies to sell.

Dwight A. Hayes will have his non-fiction book, Banished, and some of his photography. He'll also some of Michael Abraham's books, including Providence, VA. Michael has an out-of-state commitment and isn't able to attend this year's festival.

Becky Mushko will have Stuck, her middle-grade novel and Ferradiddledumday, an Appalachian folktale. She'll also have The Girl Who Raced Mules & Other Stories, Peevish Advice, and Patches on the Same Quilt.

Judith Riker Damon will have A Genteel Spy, her great-grandmother's memoir of the Civil War (see this post), and she'll also have some of her own art.

Peggy Shifflett  will have four volumes of her memoirs of growing up in a holler near Harrisonburg—The Red Flannel Rag, Mom's Family Pie, The Living Room Bed, and her new book, On the Way to Toe Town. 

The Sweet Potatoes from Winston-Salem, NC, who would have had heir down-home cookbook, Well, Shut My Mouth!, had to cancel at the last minute because of family illness.

Beverly Merritt will have a table full of her history & genealogy books, including The Clement-Witcher Feud and Franklin County True Stories, Letters and Recipes from the Grapevine. Beverly is a wealth of knowledge about local history and genealogy.

Charles Lytton will have his memoirs of growing up along the New River— New River: Bonnets, Apple Butter, and Moonshine and The Cool Side of the Pillow.

Ibby Greer  will have her own books—her novel A Season of Letters and her autobiographical poetry Paper Faces—as well as her late husband Keister Greer's The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1934. She'll also have some of her delightful painted Gourdfriends.

Oma Boyd will have her "old woman's" memoir, Round This Mountain.

Karen J. Hall will have several books: Mount Airy Granite, Building the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Blue Ridge Parkway, and Wythe County, Virginia.

Rodger Doss will have his two historical novels, 'Shine and Killing of a Court.

Cara Modisett will have her lovely Blue Ridge Parkway Impressions as well as some CDs of her music.

Curtis Nester  will have his inspirational book, Faith Will Keep You Afloat.

Shea Lemone will have his novels, Corner Pride and The Spring of Unexpected Consequences.

Barbara Roberts  will have her two novels, What A Christmas!, and its sequel, Not in my Wildest Dreams.

Tina Hanlon and Rex Stephenson  will have a variety of Appalachian Literature resources, including some of Rex's plays.

Lynn Salsi will have several books including Appalachian Jack Tales, Jack and the Fire Dragon, The Life and Times of Ray Hicks, and others.

Morris Stephenson will talk to festival-goers about his moonshine book, A Night of Makin' Likker, even if it isn't yet out in time for the festival. Odds are good he'll be taking orders.

Jack Powell will be unable to attend, but the Artisan Center has three volumes of his moonshine memoirs—A Dying Art.

Ethel Born will have postal service history, Carrying the Mail in Rural Virginia, which mentions some Franklin County post offices.

Fred First  will have Slow Road Home and What We Hold in Our Hands, as well as some of his photo notecards. Fred will also have Michael Abraham's books for sale—The Spine of the Virginias; Union, WV; Harmonic Highways, and Providence, VA.

Finally, the Friends of the Library will have a used book sale. They'll feature books of regional interest.

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