Heartwood Signing

I've been on the road a bit the past few weeks. I did a book-signing at the VWC meeting on Nov. 5, went to Roanoke for a Pen Women meeting on Nov. 9, and did a reading at Riverviews Artspace in Lynchburg on Nov. 17. On Saturday, I took a longer-than-usual road trip—to Heartwood in Abingdon for a book-signing.

My table was all set up and waiting for me when I arrived.

Heartwood's book section features books by SW Virginia authors or books about the region. They carry four of my books—Ferradiddledumday (an Appalachian version of Rumpelstiltskin), my novel Stuck (which is set in Franklin County), The Girl Who Raced Mules & Other Stories (a collection of mostly rural stories) and Where There's A Will (a collection of Appalachian stories for kids).

In front of my table was this "tree" made of native woods of the region. TV screens showed videos of activities in the counties that make up the Crooked Road region.

Behind me was this display.

Other sections of Heartwood are devoted to music, arts, and crafts of the region.

Here I am at my table:

I met—or re-met—several nice people while I was there. One was Tammy Brown, whom I'd met at a Bedford Bookfest in 2006 where we both read from our books. Tammy wrote Too Sweet, a children's picture book to help young children understand diabetes.

Later, I saw Rebecca Elswick, whose novel Mama's Shoes won a Writer's Digest competition and will be out in a few weeks. I had originally met Rebecca at an Appapachian Writers Conference several years ago. It was nice to see her again and learn about her new book. Rebecca's blog is here.

I could have spent hours taking picture of all the neat things I liked at Heartwood, but I didn't. This picture of a bear was around the wall behind me. 

But it's more than a picture; it's also a sculpture!

Is that neat, or what? Another neat thing is the drive to Heartwood. I went over to Rt. 58 to I-77 to I-81. I hate driving interstates, but I love taking Rt. 58 over the mountain.  Because I get to see this:

Lover's Leap has to be one of the most beautiful scenes in SW Virginia.  

Is that neat, or what?

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