When I moved to Hiawassee full-time in 2016, I had one published young adult novel, Chinaberry Summer, and I was in the midst of completing my second book, Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side. I can’t leave out Feannag the Crow, who hatched here in my mind.
Over the years, I’ve dabbled a bit in poetry, beginning in my teens, but I never imagined that I would discover a great love for writing poetry. I credit the beauty of our Appalachian surroundings and my sweet husband’s patience while I focus on writing and appear distant sometimes—because I’m writing in my head. I also must give credit to North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and my amazing friends here who support each other. Our NCWNW director Glenda Beall has encouraged me, as well as countless other writers, to improve our craft.
A few weeks ago, I was part of the first of four Scribes on Stage events at the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville. N.C. I was set to work backstage with the stage manager, but we had snow that day. My poet friend was scheduled to read that night, but she was snowed in at her house in the mountains. I volunteered to step in for her on the program. Never in my life did I imagine that one day I would stand in front of an audience in a theatre and read my poetry. Yes, we grow older, but how wonderful it is to discover something new about ourselves in the later years of our lives.
I have now ventured into a whole new realm. Our second Scribes on Stage event, A Night of One-Act Plays, is set to hit the stage at the Peacock on April 2. You guessed it. I’m one of the playwrights. My friend and collaborator Raven and I researched and wrote Beneath the Sky and Waters, a brief history of Clay County and Hayesville, NC. We’re also skimming the surface of the deep and beautiful history of the Cherokee in Clay County. More on that later in my journals.
It's no accident that the words journal and journey are related.
Onward and upward!