See us at Empire Books this Saturday

Happy Thanksgiving to you all in advance! I’m preparing a special traditional Thanksgiving dish that is a family recipe we call meat stuffing. My house smells like meat, potatoes, onions, and cloves. 🙂 Tomorrow I’ll take it with me to share with some friends my wife and I are staying with in Beckley.
Hey, if you’re in the Huntington area this weekend, stop by Empire Books & News on Saturday (Nov 25th). They are hosting their Annual Holiday Open House from 10 am to 10 pm as a part of Small Business Saturday. There will be a story time with Wonder Woman, music, tea, raffles, specials, and a bunch of West Virginia authors there to meet you and sign books! (So don’t spend all your money on Black Friday…) I’m scheduled to be there from 1pm to 4pm. Hope to see you there!
Click on the image below for more information on the event:
idvwjccl_400x400In other news, I’m preparing to write a Bigfoot novel, so if anyone out there has any sightings or stories, or knows of any Bigfoot expeditions coming up soon that I could join, email me: [email protected].

Vote for me!

Somebody brought to my attention that I’m listed in WV Living Magazine‘s ballot for their The Best of West Virginia Awards. I wish I had seen this sooner. Only a week left to vote!
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Now, I’m not going to tell you I’m the Best Author in West Virginia. But if you want to vote for me, I’m sure not going to argue with you.
Also, this is cool—I grew up in Davis (sister town to Thomas), and those two towns are ALL OVER this poll! Maybe because it really is the coolest! (Sorry Pocahontas County—Tucker County is in my blood forever it seems)
So go vote! And share this all over the social nets!
 
 

Flash #Halloween #Kindle #giveaway

Happy Halloween everybody! A few things:
First, today only I’m running a giveaway where you can enter to win a free ebook version of each of my books, Little One and When the Watcher Shakes. This is how you enter: Follow me on Twitter (if you already do, you’re halfway there!), then retweet the tweet below:

I will randomly select a winner from all those who have retweeted before 12:00 AM on November 1st 2017, and then I will send that person a direct message via twitter to work out emailing the ebooks. If you are a nook reader instead of Kindle, don’t worry, I can send you an epub instead.
Second, a big thanks to all those who sponsored and attended the West Virginia Book Festival last weekend. I had a blast, met some great people, and got to see some favorite writers speak. I also managed to sell a book or two! I didn’t take a lot of pictures, since my phone was kind of busy being used as a credit card swiper, but here are some photos from the event:

I forgot to bring my phone to Joe Hill’s talk/signing. I also forgot to bring my Joe Hill Special Issue of Cemetery Dance Magazine for him to sign. Kicking myself for both, but mostly the latter.
Anyways it was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to the next one. Happy Halloween!
Oh and of course, here is this year’s Jack-O-Lantern from me and Emily to you!

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Happy Halloween!

Coming to the West Virginia Book Festival 2017

On October 26th and 27th, get on over to the Civic Center at Charleston, WV for the West Virginia Book Festival!
2010_Bookfest_LogoListen— this is going to be a great event. The author speaker lineup is huge, and it includes Joe Hill and R. L. Stine! I keep checking that author list over and over again, thinking I just imagined these guys are coming. Nope, it’s real!
Oh yeah—The Fonz is gonna be there, too (no, seriously, check out that link).
There are also some really great WV writers presenting, including Marc Harshman and Carter Taylor Seaton. And other awesomeness will be going on, like writer workshops and book selling. And admission to this thing is free.
I’ll be over in the Marketplace selling my books, so after you’re done meeting the rock stars, come over to my table and chat. I don’t even care if you didn’t come to the event because of me. (I have free bookmarks!)
Don’t miss this!!! And don’t forget about dropping by my table to say hi! Check out these links for more info on the event and to connect on social media:
wvbookfestival.org
WV Book Festival Facebook Page

 

Literary festivities in America’s Coolest Small Town

Over the weekend I signed and sold my books at one of my favorite events, the Lewisburg Literary Festival. Lewisburg is up at the top of my favorite places in WV, and a big reason for that is their appreciation for books expressed in this fun annual event. (Re: the title of this post, Lewisburg was named America’s Coolest Small Town by Budget Travel in 2011). I took a few pics and thought those of you who weren’t there would want to see what you missed out on. Continue reading

Catch me in Lewisburg WV

My book signing at Empire Books & News in Huntington, WV was a blast. I lucked out as Huntington’s annual Hot Dog Festival was going on in Pullman Square during my signing, which I’m pretty sure resulted in even more visitors to the book store than normal. Before the event I ordered another box of books just in case I sold most of them at Empire, and it’s a good thing I did!
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This weekend I’ll be selling and signing my books in the vendor area at the Lewisburg Literary Festival on August 4 & 5 (this Friday and Saturday). Along with many other great WV authors and publishers selling their books, there will also be workshops and speakers in the area. I’ve been to the Lewisburg Literary Festival as an observer before and it is a blast, believe me (and it’s free to attend!). Not to mention just walking around Lewisburg alone is pretty fun; it’s one of my favorite towns in WV. Come see us, and don’t forget to reserve tickets to the scheduled events (free, but necessary to hold your spot as seating is limited).
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Guest speakers and workshop teachers for 2017 include Eliot Parker, Morgan Spurlock, Mesha Maren,  and the featured speaker is #1 New York Times best-selling author Azar Nafisi! Find out more about it and reserve your tickets on the website or Facebook.
Website: http://www.lewisburgliteraryfestival.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LewisburgLiteraryFestival/
 

I would have been a beautiful woman by now…

I would have been a beautiful woman by now. But when a body turns to dust before its time—when the mold is broken early—the spirit, like a casting, takes the mold’s last form. Though my awareness has grown—in ways it would not have, had it still been bound by mortal flesh—I retain the likeness by which I was last known: a girl of six years.
Yes, though few who have seen me would know it, I have grown. I have learned.
My soul has not passed over because I have not yet let it. I have learned to become patient. Patience is a virtue, and I know I will taste the reward of its fulfillment. I am patiently awaiting my passing over, but I must have one thing before I am swept away by Elijah’s fiery chariots.
I must have vengeance.
I feel that the time for vengeance is soon—though time is different for me now, as I am a soul unclothed, and not bound by time in the way that I once was.
The house I roam can feel vengeance’s nearness, too. These dark rooms grow colder—colder even than winter’s breath that frosts the windows.
I walk to one of these and look out at the white hills. I love these hills, especially in winter.
The wind outside moans through the trees, telling me that my time is coming. It warns me to be careful, that vengeance is cold, too, and empty. But how can anyone trust the wind? Nobody knows where it comes from, or where it goes.
Vengeance will be mine.