Festival on the Square in Hayesville NC

We are very happy that the Clay County Historical and Arts Council has accepted Netwest as a vendor this year. That means Netwest will have a booth at the Festival on the Square in Hayesville, NC on Saturday, July 14 and Sunday, July 15.

President of CCHAC, Janice Padgett, contacted me recently and informed me that NCWN West could make application for a booth. The festival is on the historical square of our town, and each year every inch of space under the old trees around the Courthouse is filled with tents of craft makers. Painters, photographers, jewelry makers, colorful fabric work and iron sculpture catch the eye. Live music is played all day in the gazebo, and the cloggers perform on Saturday.This festival now includes all of the arts.


Writing is a literary art, of course, and for the first time in several  years, we will be there with our popular book, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge.


Our members who have published books are invited to bring a few copies for the table. We might hold periodic readings throughout the day. If so, we will post times.

We will also need volunteers, hopefully a few strong ones, to help erect the tent and set up tables Friday afternoon, and take down the booth on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

This will be a wonderful opportunity to introduce the public to our anthology and to let them meet the writers in this area.
We hope to have a good turnout of Netwest people that weekend.
 I am already getting excited about the festival. If you have never been to the Festival on the Square in Hayesville, NC, you should come and enjoy it this July.
If you have come here in past years, please leave a comment on your experience.
If you don't want to post your email or URL, just post your comment and click on anonymous.

Festivals, Pumpkins, and a Winter Day

I can’t decide what to call this – Pumpkin Season or Winter Surprise or Festival Fun.

This weekend the weather changed drastically from mild to windy and cold. I refused to turn on heat in my house. I love the coolness, but Tiger, my cat, having no warm hearth to curl up on, has taken to my bed. She is the first cat I’ve ever had that wants to sleep with me. I don’t like having a cat on my bed. I don’t like having a dog on my bed having had a poodle for 19 years that thought our king sized bed was all his. Tiger is looking for warmth and that is why she has moved in, and she is so cute curled up sleeping that I just don’t have the heart to chase her away. I know what being cold feels like.

At the 34th Indian Summer Festival in Suches, GA the wintry weather made manning the Netwest booth quite a challenge. I arrived there around 10:30 a.m. and found Netwest member, Joan Howard, had been there since 8:30. Her hands trembled from the cold. Robert King came shortly after Joan and he was bundled up with a warm jacket. The cold wind whipped through our little canopy tent, blowing books off the table, blowing brochures, framed book covers, sending everything on the table flying.

Some part of the canopy structure broke. We tied it back together with a plastic bag. The three of us sat in the sun and had a good time visiting and talking about writing. And – in spite of the cold wind, we sold some books, met some nice people and helped spread the word about Netwest.
Later driving home, I enjoyed big orange displays of pumpkins in yards, in front of stores, and remembered that I fell in love with these mountains a life time ago when we used to come here on vacation -- always in the fall. We loved the festivals, the music, and the friendly folk in the small towns.
The festivals have lost their luster for me, but autumn is glorious with the trees melding into mosaic patterns, brilliant in the sun. Life goes on.

Let's talk - Thursday evening at JCCFS, 7:00 p.m.

If you are in the neighborhood, please come to John Campbell Folk School on Thursday, November, 18, the Keith House - where Jennifer McGaha and I will read and chat and sign books at Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories. The fun starts at 7:00 p.m. and lasts for one hour. You don't want to be late.

We will have copies of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge and I'll bring copies of Now Might as Well be Then, (if my order arrives in time).
Be sure to pick up a book for a Christmas gift. I'll discount my poetry book for that evening only.
I look forward to seeing you there.

Blue Ridge Books hosts authors in Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

JC Walkup reads her mystery from Echoes. The ending is a Gotcha.

We had a great time recently in Waynesville at Blue Ridge Books. Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, our Netwest anthology which is selling quite well, was featured with a reading at the book store. George Ivey, author of a new novel, Up River, was the host, along with JC Walkup, publisher of Fresh, the new literary journal everyone is talking about.

Among those reading from their work in the anthology were Susan Lefler, Dick Mitchner,and StarShield Lortie. Glenda Beall read poetry by Glenda Barrett, Karen Holmes and one of her own poems from Now Might As Well Be Then, Finishing Line Press, 2009.

Dick Mitchner sings the praises of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

Susan Lefler Reads

Students are Inspired and Inspiring at Writers Circle Today

Today, Saturday, my dear friend and fellow writer, Estelle Rice, taught a class at Writers Circle, my studio in Hayesville, NC. All the students participated and seemed to enjoy each exercise Estelle gave them. It was obvious that she was well prepared for today.

Estelle has written some delightful short stories such as Antiques which appeared in Lights in the Mountains and her story, Chicken and Dumplings in Echoes Across the Blue Ridge.

A few years ago, she published a poetry chapbook, Quiet Times, filled with spiritual poems.

Like our other guest writers this summer, Estelle was inspired by the students. Some of them are experienced writers and some are beginners.

I am sure they all left today with new ideas that will end any writer's block or hesitation to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

I can't wait to further explore the notes I scribbled on my legal pad.

ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE is finally here.

I came downstairs to my studio today and found a man in a brown uniform, the UPS man, hauling boxes up my steps - one after the other, in a non-stop hurry.
Hey, I said to him Don't leave those boxes right in front of my door. I can't move them.
So, he brought them inside and stacked them - all sixteen boxes of books.
I was so excited I could hardly wait for him to leave so I could look at the Netwest anthology we have worked on for nearly two years. From fall of 2008 until now.
Nancy Simpson is the editor and Karen Holmes was her biggest help, working as a volunteer and Katja Holmes, Karen's daughter designed the book.
I have been working on a marketing plan since we decided to publish Echoes and it is falling into place. Book stores are ordering and members are wanting to hold readings.
The book can be ordered by going to http://www.ncwriters.org/ and looking for the cover picture of Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, stories, essays and poems by writers living in and inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
If you live in the south western part of North Carolina, you can probably find a bookstore that will have the book in stock or will order it for you.
The book will also be available in stores in North Georgia and in western South Carolina.

Phillips and LLoyd Books in Hayesville, NC, Curiosity Books in Murphy,NC and Books Unlimited in Franklin, NC have already placed orders. Tell your book store to contact Glenda Beall, glendabeall@msn.com or 828-389-4441 for ordering information and for prices.
We are extremely proud of this publication which includes an Introduction by Robert Morgan and praise from North Carolina writers, Lee Smith and Ron Rash.
The book is dedicated to the mountain poet, Byron Herbert Reece, who grew up and lived in Union County, Georgia in the Appalachians..

When you read this book, please send me your comments. I'd love to know what you think about it.

ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE

One of my creative nonfiction pieces, The Trillium, was accepted for the anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The editor, Nancy Simpson, has worked for the past year collecting work from some of the best writers in western North Carolina. This book is dedicated to the North Georgia poet, Byron Herbert Reece and has an introduction by Robert Morgan.

New Technology - the struggle goes on

Technology - so much, so fast and who has the time to keep up with it all?
Tonight I learned that Google now offers a free website to anyone with a google E-mail address. I was invited to visit the site of Joan Hetzler which is not quite ready for public viewing, but I am impressed. She has a slide show of St. Simons Georgia with some of the most gorgeous photos I've seen.

With the soon to be released anthology of the NCWN West, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, edited by Nancy Simpson, we need to have the option of ordering the book online. This will be another new part of online technology I will have to learn.

Like Joan I want to set up a website of my own in a few months. Perhaps the free Google site will be the thing I need to look into.
Have you set up a free website? Tell us about it, please, and share your knowledge with us.  Do you like it and was it easy to do?

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

I have to say tonight I am elated. Nancy Simpson sent out the acceptance letters today for the new NCWN West anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge; Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in or Inspired by the Southern Appalachians.

I love the title. The second part of it is the same as our first anthology, Lights in the Mountains. We have around 80 authors and poets in this book which will be larger than the first one.

Nancy worked hard, day and night she read, and lost sleep over what to include and what would not fit. She is proud of the final choices and I know this will be a fine book showcasing many of our Netwest members and non-members who live in this beautiful land of southern Appalachia.



I can't thank Nancy enough for her diligent work on this most important project for Netwest. Besides serving as a terrific venue for our writers to publish their best work, the sale of this book will insure that our writing organization will be able to hold workshops, conferences, pay writers who speak, pay expenses and keep registration fees for these events down to a reasonable price.



We have a number of volunteers who are helping to get this book together and we will recognize them in the book along with the many donors who helped raise the printing fees.



Now we need submissions from our Netwest area for the cover art.

If you live in the Netwest area of NC, SC or GA, send us a photo that you think will make a good cover. Our Cherokee County Representative Mary Ricketson submitted a photo for Lights in the Mountains and it was chosen. I hope to get some submissions in before long. Go to http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/ for info on how to submit.