Festival time in western North Carolina

Glenda Beall with writer Raven Chiong, new member of NCWN-West

This past weekend The Festival on the Square was held on the historic square of Hayesville, NC. Thousands of people attend this event each year, but everything was cancelled in 2020. The NC Writers' Network-West registered for a booth this year. Carroll S. Taylor and her husband, Hugh, volunteered to staff the booth, put up the tent and tables and take it all down on Sunday afternoon. They had a long, tiring weekend, but Carroll said she sold more books than at any other place she has signed books.

Carroll is a novelist with two young adult novels published. She recently published a picture book. Feannag, the Crow is filled with colorful illustrations by Doreyl Ammons Cain.

See more about Carroll at www.chinaberrysummer.com

Brenda Kay Ledford sits with Carroll in front of our banner. Visitors seem to take notice of the Books by Local Authors sign and wanted to take home one of our books. Brenda Kay also published a picture book recently and it, too, had colorful illustrations by Doreyl Ammons Cain

A larger photo of the booth with Brenda and Carroll at the front table.

I sat at the side table on Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed meeting people who stopped by. We wanted to show our presence in the community and encourage novice writers to join us and become a part of our group in western NC. We handed out our brochure with all our contact information and a form for joining NCWN. I expect to hear from folks who want to write and learn more about publishing.

We gave away a number of books and our anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, was popular with visitors from other states. They wanted to take home a book by western NC writers. This book is still for sale by contacting me.   www.pcncwnw@gmail.com 

I signed up to teach another writing class in September on Zoom. I will give more details later.
Hope you all had a great weekend. I am suffering a bit from sitting in that hard chair for hours, but tomorrow I will be fine again.

Memorial Day, 1995

Twenty-five years ago, Memorial Day, 1995, Barry and I moved away from our dream home in Albany, Georgia and settled into the house where I live today in Clay County NC. It was to be a temporary home until we sold our house on the farm where I had grown up. 

What a day it was for me. My emotions were in turmoil. Leaving the only home we had ever had together and moving hundreds of miles from family, had me feeling as though I were being ripped apart.

We had always thought we wanted to live in the mountains near a lake. We found the perfect place.  We could see Lake Chatuge from our upstairs deck. We could sit at our dining table and see Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia on the far side of the lake.

The only problem was the living area of the mountain house was 1/3 of the space in our Georgia home that we both loved so much. The living/dining area was not as big as the main living area where we had held parties and family gatherings for two decades enjoying the house we had saved for and dreamed about. Barry had lived in California and was set on having a redwood house with a modern design. That was fine with me. Our friend, a young architect, hungry to do something creative, agreed to design the house at a price we could afford. 

He was happy with the house and said the only problem was the location. He would like to have had it in a ritzy neighborhood in the city. We loved the location in the woods on the back side of the farm my father bought in 1942. 

Windows surrounded the downstairs so we felt like we were a part of the forest. From inside I saw many wonders of nature like a rabbit-mating-dance from my kitchen window. Birds went about their daily lives unaware that I was just feet away watching them. Squirrels played and large turtles passed through our yard.

Oscar P. Opossum visited our patio every night. Barry named him, and we loved watching him eat the large insects that were drawn to our porch lights.

We had a stable and two horses we often rode in the woods and on the trails around the farm. We loved country living and all the freedom and privacy it provided. 

So, it was natural that we wanted something similar when we moved to the mountains. Our little house is surrounded with woods, wildlife and still only five miles from emergency care if needed. We did not want to be living high on a mountain where snow in winter would prevent an ambulance reaching us should we call. Barry had recovered from open heart surgery while we lived on the farm, and his health was uppermost in my mind when we chose a place to live in the Appalachians. 

The house was fine, but it was the view that sealed the deal. Little did we know that this house would become home for the rest of our years together. Barry was never happier than sitting on the deck in the quiet of the evening listening to the sounds of the woods as the sun set over the lake. 

First Christmas, 1995, at our mountain house

I was asked, after he died, was I going to sell my house. Isn't it hard to live with all those memories there? No, it is wonderful to live with all the memories of our lives together in this house. His pictures are prominent in my living room. His cowboy hats have their own special place in the hallway. His first guitar rests on a stand where I see it every day. When I have guests we often talk about Barry and how we loved him and still miss him. But no one cries. We laugh at his great sense of humor, at the things he did and said. We remember him with joy.

Twenty-five years ago I had no idea what this house would hold for me, for us. We lost two beloved dogs here, Kodi and Rocky, and we lost our sweet south Georgia cat, Tiger who brought in live rabbits and chipmunks, turned them loose and watched me scramble to get them back outside. 

Tiger, our south Georgia bob-tailed cat

We turned a two bedroom, two bath little house into a three bedroom, three bath home with my writing studio in the finished daylight basement. For ten years I taught and invited writers to teach there. That was what helped me get through those early years of mourning. Now I spend most of my time upstairs but plan to use the studio space for something I will enjoy. Maybe I will paint again or take up sewing. Who knows what will grab me in the coming years.  

I hope to stay in this house for the rest of my days. I continue to like the privacy, the beauty of my little acre, and this very peaceful neighborhood. I love my nearest neighbors who are like family to me. My best friends are in this area, my writing community is here and, even though I differ from most of the natives in my psychological values and perspectives, the people are good folk and I appreciate them. When I want to get away, I just head down to Roswell Georgia where my sister lives, and we have some family time. 

Gay C. Moring

I'm back and blogging again

It is so good to be back! For a while I've had some interlopers on my computers that popped up every time I tried to post or read my blogs. My great computer guru, Bob, spent about two hours last evening cleaning up the mess.

We have a local paper, Clay County Progress, in Clay County, NC where I live. It is published only once a week, and by the time I get it, many of the events are over. But this week the paper has two articles about the Tour of Homes here December 6 and 7. It includes five homes and a stop at the Tusquittee Tavern for music, history and refreshments. I’ve been to the tavern and it is a friendly place I look forward to visiting again.   

  

One of the homes will be that of Mary Street who lives in the Elf community. The photo of her house in the snow reminds me of a Christmas card with a wish for all the warmth and love of home. The house is filled with her own paintings, quilts and other handmade designs sewn by Mary. Also in Street’s house will be woodturnings and carvings by local men. All the homes will be beautifully decorated for the season. 

I look forward to the tour this year. In years past, Barry, Gay and Stu and our friends, the Clarkes took a tour of homes in the area each Christmas. I miss those times. The homes are always decorated with Christmas trees, and seasonal colors. I don’t decorate much at all now since I don’t have family coming. I go to my sister and brother-in law's house for Christmas. When I walk in their door, I feel like Christmas has arrived, and I get that joyous but melancholy feeling I've always had at Christmas.

The Hayesville Holiday Tour of Homes goes on from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. both days and only costs $15.00. The proceeds will benefit the many community and school projects the Clay County Historical andArts Council  sponsors each year. Tickets can be bought at the Chamber of Commerce in Hayesville, Tigers Department store and other places in town.

Blogging - A Seminar on How To

Friday I attended a program and lunch with Firm Answers Now in Murphy, NC.  John Fleischer presented a program on blogging and how to effectively use your blog to reach your target audience.

I sat with Mary Sedrick from BrightBridge Women 's Business Center who came over from Chattanooga, TN. Her company, in conjunction with the Small Business Association, helps women entrepreneurs grow successful businesses.

It pleased me to learn that I am doing what I should with all my blogging - posting two or three times a week, posting content that my viewers appreciate (well, most of the time), visiting other blogs and leaving comments. I like that John talked about tags and how we should use them and links to other sites. The one thing John didn't tell me was how I can find more time for blogging. 

He said we should know our niche or our target audience before setting up our blog. On my Writers Circle blog, I stay focused on writing, and posts related to writing. On this blog, Writing Life Stories, I focus on my personal life, my life as a writer and teacher, and my stories about my life, my family and family history. I want everyone to know that it is never too late to write about your life.

I try not to hit my readers over the head promoting my books and my business, but I do promote books by other writers. I want to create interesting and informative posts for my readers.

Thank you, Mary Fonda, at Moss Memorial Library, for sending those folks my way. It was a most informative couple of hours. I am happy to see interest in helping women with business start-ups. Women can work from home, or open a small shop that will grow with the proper guidance and financial advice. BrightBridge services reach into Clay and Cherokee Counties of North Carolina.

Do you, or have you ever owned your own business? What do you think are the challenges to being your own boss?

Some Netwest News for our Readers, Happening on November 10

This should be an afternoon of fun for all writers, as NCWN West invites you to come to meet and greet other writers in the area and hear from some outstanding writers, Catherine Carter, Brent Martin and Pam Duncan. 

• Save the date: Sunday, November 10, for the Netwest Open House at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, from 1-4 pm. From 1-2 pm, we will enjoy a social hour upstairs, where we will serve light refreshments so that we can mingle and perhaps find some great reading material. 
• From 2-4 pm, we will go downstairs to the cafe, where drinks and additional goodies will be available for purchase during the readings and open mic.  Guest readers will be: poet Catherine Carter, naturalist writer Brent Martin, and novelist Pam Duncan, with an Open mic to follow. Please mark your calendars for this outstanding event.

I plan to attend this event and hope to see many writer friends, bloggers and poets there.

Something for my Gratitude Journal

Tonight I am grateful and must show my appreciation for a man who has worked all week around my house.  

This week the rain held off for a few days. My friend and handyman, John, had time to come and take care of all the things on my “to do” list. I told him he is worth his weight in gold. I can’t pay him what he is worth, however, but I know his bill will be reasonable. Since my husband passed away in 2009, John has been the person I turn to for help when I can’t do it myself. He is good at so many things, but I appreciate that he will clean my deck from top to bottom and take the time to find a non-toxic cleaner that won’t trigger my asthma.

He took my blower that I was about to toss because it won’t work anymore and tested it to find that only my battery needs replacing. Spiders had wrapped my house in their sparkling webs and had taken up residence in every crack or cranny. Tonight no spiders hide under the tall eaves of my deck. My outside lights come on now when anything moves in my yard. Thanks to John. My grill is cleaned from top to bottom and he gave me good advice for the future. Barry was the one who used the gas grill, but I plan to make use of it now.

One afternoon recently I stuck my hand into a wasp nest that was hidden under the railing of my steps. I called John who came, found the spray in the garage and took care of the wasps. Today he discovered a huge nest under the table on my upper deck. I am surprised I haven’t been stung, and thankful John wasn't stung. Besides his willingness to help me with such chores, John always has a smile on his face.

This is not what John does to make a living. He has a construction business. He laid the floors in my house and they are done beautifully. He added a room off my kitchen so I could move my washing machine and dryer upstairs when the stairs became too much of a chore for me. He is one of the most talented people I know. I can count on him when I have a problem. If he can’t fix it, he knows who to call. I love that John never says, “it can’t be done.” When I wanted a shower in my basement bathroom everyone I talked to said it couldn't be done. But when I talked to John he told me how it could be done, and now I have a shower in my downstairs bathroom.

I won’t give his name in this post because I haven’t asked his permission, but if anyone in the Hayesville NC area needs a hardworking man who can do almost anything, call me and I’ll put you in touch with John. 

Bill Ramsey Writes his Life

Visit Bill Ramsey's website and see how he has written his life story.

The photos take me back to those years he writes about, 1950 - 1960. Bill grew up in Pennsylvania and I grew up in Georgia, but we share the common theme of living in a time when kids could be kids and our parents didn't live in fear of our being out of their sight.

If you lived during that decade, you will enjoy seeing how you relate to his life, and if you didn't live during that decade, your parents or grandparents might have, so you can see what their lives were like.

Bill Ramsey lives in Henderson County, NC and for several years has headed up the Blue Ridge Bookfest held at Flat Rock Community college in May. 

A Play Day

As I try to learn how to play again, I have to find friends who will have fun with me. I have been so busy, I let my work take the place of being with friends. Saturday my neighbor, Dot James, and I went to Sylva, a nice little town in western NC with the most impressive courthouse you will ever see. It sits up on a hill and can be seen for miles. At night with the lights on the building, it is even more beautiful.

We ate at the City Lights restaurant downstairs from City Lights bookstore. Chris, the man who owns and manages the book store that seems to thrive when all the other bookstores are falling away, is a friendly and kind man. I love to shop in that store. He still has tons of books, many, many regional books, and even a section of used books. The big all purpose room in back is perfect for programs and readings. Chris keeps something going there almost all the time. I would like to hold those type events in my county, but if I start that, I'll not have time to go play with my friends.

Soon I will get together with some special friends who were first my students. One of them is Ash Rothlein, WWII veteran, who is busy working on a mission to benefit other veterans of that war.
I'll post more about Ash later.

Anyway, I think I will play some more tomorrow. I will attend a movie I heard was good. I surely hope it will be.

How about you? Are you finding time to play?

Sign up for Table Rock Writers at Wildacres Retreat

Last year I had the great pleasure of attending Table Rock Writers Conference at Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, NC just off the Parkway. They are preparing for the 2013 workshop, September 9-13, 2013. I urge you to go if you want to have a great week with great writing instructors and the opportunity to meet interesting fellow poets and writers. 

I took Darnell Arnoult 's classes on memoir. Abigail DeWitt  teaches novel writing. This year Judy Goldman, author of the wonderful book, Losing My Sister, is teaching “Writing Memoir and Personal Narrative."  

Joseph Bathanti, Poet Laureate of NC will teach poetry. More outstanding presenters are on the roster of this excellent workshop.

Visit the website  http://tablerockwriters.wordpress.com/

A short Road Trip

Life is fun and life is busy these days. 

CAROL CRAWFORD, POET AND WRITER

I went up to Hendersonville with Carol Crawford, director of the annual Blue Ridge Writers Conference in Blue Ridge GA Thursday to speak to Senior Friends, a delightful group of people in my age bracket. 

Carol is a dear friend and was one of my mentors when I started to write and publish poetry sixteen years ago. She read from her poetry book, The Habit of Mercy, a touching and funny collection of poems about mothers and daughters. After the meeting we sat up in my room and ate popcorn and talked. I think I did most of the talking, but Carol is a wonderful listener. I could hardly believe her girls are in college now. Her guilty pleasure is knitting and playing online scrabble with her girls.

On Friday before leaving town we dropped in to meet Valerie Welbourne, owner of the Fountainhead bookstore.

 Hendersonville is only two hours from where I live, and I plan to go back soon just to browse the shops along Main street. Of course I indulged my guilty pleasure and bought more books, not only there, but I couldn't pass by Waynesville without stopping at the Blue Ridge Bookstore there. Now I have to try to find a book or two to give away so I have room for the new ones.

I was asked to read and teach and I hope I also motivated  and inspired.

I very much appreciate both of these independent book stores  stocking Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, anthology of WNC writers and poets, edited by Nancy Simpson. The Fountainhead bookstore sold two copies just before we stopped in.

Also, this week, I received Susan Snowden's new novel in the mail. Southern Fried Lies. Valerie said she couldn't put it down, so I look forward to diving into it soon.

 

We have just the spot for you.

We had a terrific first class at Tri-County Community College last Tuesday. We missed those who didn't make it and are sorry to learn that one has been hurt in an accident and another has a very good excuse for dropping out.

But that means we have room for two more. No one will be penalized for missing the first class. Email me, nightwriter0302@yahoo.com and I'll give you all the info you need to start next Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.

Already I can tell we will be writing some good stories. Everyone is excited about sharing their work and getting answers to their questions. We write to learn about ourselves as well as tell about our lives and others.  

I hope, if you have thought about taking a class on writing true life stories (non-fiction) about yourself, your family, your experiences, your war stories, your college stories, your stories that you want to tell someone, maybe your family and friends, or just to write to get them out. This is the class to take.

Email: nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

or call Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC and ask for Lisa in the Community Enrichment Program. 
Call Lisa at (828) 835-4313

MEMORIES ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

Thank you, my friends, my readers, for taking the time to check out this blog and for leaving your thoughts and opinions as well. I am especially grateful to those who subscribe and have my latest posts arrive in your email inbox.

I am planning to have a restful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. I remember it was Memorial Day, 1995, when Barry and I moved here, to this house. It was a major turning point in our lives and the beginning of a completely new life for me. So much has happened to me since that time. So many happy times, and so many losses in my life since leaving my childhood home and moving to the mountains. At times I can't believe how different my life is today - how different I am now. The manner in which we accept or handle changes creates the person we become. I hope most of the changes in me have made me a better person, a better sister, a better friend and a better teacher.

I notice that I do get on the nerves of my sisters sometimes. (smile) For that I'm sorry. I wonder if they prefer me as the person I was seventeen years ago or the person I am today.

That's a good prompt to write on this weekend. Do I prefer the person I was to the person I am?

With summer upon us, we all have many things going on in our lives. I look forward to another writing class I'll teach at TCC beginning June 5, 2- 4 p.m. 
I also anticipate lots of fun when The Festival on the Square , July 13,14 is held in Hayesville. Netwest will have a booth this year. We will meet tons of folks and I hope, if you can attend, one of them will be you.

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.

Andy Rooney - He and I liked the same things.

"I like things you put things in." Andy Rooney said this according to a news reporter speaking about Rooney on a Sunday news show. I had to smile. I have never said those words, but I, too, like things you put things in.
Don't you like baskets, and don't you like to find things to put in them? I love to find a pretty basket at a good price. I have never bought expensive baskets. After all, I don't need another basket. They collect dust and I do my best to avoid dust catchers in my house.
Many years ago, I brought home a basket every time I visited the mountains of N.GA or North Carolina. The fall festival booths overflowed with them - all made from different materials - pine straw, kudzu vines, birch bark, grasses and twigs. I fell in love with every kind of basket I saw and I brought them home with me.

Lately, I can't stop buying those storage fabric boxes or fabric covered boxes. They come in lovely colors so I buy some blue and then find I like another type in green. If my shopping had been planned instead of being spontaneous I'd have selected one color and bought the boxes in sets. I could then use them on a shelf to hold my stuff, but now I have mismatched colors and that looks like I had no plan . And I didn't.

Recently I caught myself keeping the cute little square containers the cat food comes in. The plastic top peels off and the bottoms are just the perfect size to hold little things like paper clips in a desk drawer or earrings in my jewelry chest. But I feed the cat twice a day, that means two little square holders every day. I gave up and now I toss them.

I used to collect clowns and had some I prized. But my practical mind took over. I began collecting pitchers - any size was fine. The graceful shape of a pitcher is pleasing to my eyes. A pitcher is a vessel. Unlike porcelain clowns, vessels are useful.

I love the glazes and designs in the pottery I find in this area, so I began collecting local hand made pitchers and vases. Recently I attended one of the biggest and best pottery festivals  -- in Dillsboro, NC. I told those who were with me to hit me in the head if I bought anything. I am getting rid of "STUFF" and I don't need to add anything to what I have.

The potters came from as far away as Iowa and Vermont. Such creativity! Each booth held unique pieces. The lamps, glazed and even imbued with stained glass, for 200 dollars or more would make a conversation piece in any one's home. Oh, how I drooled over them, but that was out of my budget, completely.

The couple from Iowa had the one kind of pottery I could not resist. Half of the display was horse themed. Mugs with images of a horse, bowls with horse images and, large or small the pieces, whether plain or colorful, showed a horse in motion. And these horses were no caricatures, each was carefully etched and honestly portrayed a beautiful horse.

At first I tried to justify a purchase for a friend. But I don't have a friend who would appreciate horse themed pottery. I appreciate it and I finally gave in and  bought a sand colored  mug with a lighter colored horse on the side. I told myself I needed it for my new office to go with my horse lamp and my horse bookends. I felt a little  less guilty after I talked the owner of the booth into letting me have two pieces for a six dollar discount.

 Bowls, cups, vases, baskets, bags, magazine holders, containers of all sorts, home-made or manufactured, intrigue me. I can not be let loose in the container store.

Do you, like Andy Rooney and I, have an attraction for "things you put things in?"


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Submit Your Writing

I borrowed the following from Maureen Ryan Griffin's newsletter. Maureen lives in Charlotte where she stays busy teaching classes in writing. She also teaches at John Campbell Folk School and just held a class there. Her book, Spinning Words into Gold, is filled with excellent tips and advice for writers of any genre. She is a good friend and a generous writer.
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Lit Drift is a new blog, community, and resource dedicated to the art and craft of fiction in the twenty-first century. Besides its editorial content, Lit Drift offers daily creative prompts, daily short stories, and a weekly free book giveaway. They don't accept submissions for blog content, but they would happily accept material to be featured as a Daily Prompt and/or daily Featured Story. In both cases, they would look for a complete short story or poem to publish on their Web site. Author would be credited, of course, and linked to.


CAVEWALL PRESS is accepting open submissions postmarked during the month of September. Please send three to six previously unpublished poems to: Cave Wall Press, LLC, PO Box 29546, Greensboro, NC 27429-9546. Your name should NOT appear on any poems. Include a cover letter listing the titles of poems you're submitting. Include SASE for response.


To subscribe to Maureen's newsletter contact her:
Maureen Ryan Griffin
WordPlay

http://www.maureenryangriffin.com/

704 364-4359
maureen@MaureenRyanGriffin.com