wilkes

I would also recommend Robert Inman. He's a former news anchor with the Charlotte stations and a native Alabaman, but his writing is pure NC! Be sure to read Old Dogs and Children first.

Radio, you WILL fall in love with the Mitford series. They are like potato chips for the brain!

The Hidden World Chronicles
Journey of the Chosen
Author Richard Nance and Daughter Rhonda Roth
They are from Jonesville NC and will have a book signing at the Holiday Inn Express in Jonesville Sept 20th @ 2pm

Christinagirl, I'm a man who's not embarrassed to admit that I HAVE read Nicholas Sparks. And I do enjoy them. Most recently I read, then saw "Nights in Rodanthe" (my most recent Nicholas Sparks book, not my most recent book. The book on my nightstand now is "238 Bones" by Kathy Reichs.

My Mom was a Sharyn McCrumg fan, "1Goddess". Thanks for the suggestion.

And DaddyP I love Asheville...it's one of my favorite parts fo the state. So thanks for your suggestion.

I'm a longtime reader of Our State, but somehow I've been overlooking the seciton on North Carolina authors. I'll have to pay more careful attention.

My wife and I just stayed in a cottage at Yanoahlossee between Boone and Blowing Rock. On the table in the cottage was a 2006 issue of Our State (I think Feb 2006), which included an interview with Jan Karon. I learned a lot, including the fact that her first book, "At Home in Mitford" was serialized as a column in the 'Blowing Rock Rocket' before publication (her fans probably already know that!) I like the idea of life through the eyes of a smalltown minister, love Blowing Rock ("Mitford"), so I'm going to slid this first in the series into my reading list (after the Kathy Reichs that i"m reading, and the new John Sandford "Virgil Flowers" book that's on the way. Oh, and there's a new Stuart Woods I'm going to have to fit in there somewhere. And a new Sue Grafton...w'ere to "U" this time). I WILL start this series, probably in the next couple of months, and I thank you so much for the input!

I recently looked through "Our State" magazine and there is a page in there each month highlighting a NC author or two with a description of books written. You may want to ck that out!

Try the Miss Julia Books by Ann B Ross. She lives in Hendersonville NC and her books are based in a fictional town that is similar to Asheville and Hendersonville. She mentions a lot of places in Western NC. I picked up her first book several years ago when I was in what is Talia's now. It was a book store/coffee shop then. I was waiting on my child to get out of the movies and wanted to something to read. I sat there and got hooked. I bought the book and have read all her books now. She writes a new one that comes out every April. Miss Julia is a crotchety old lady who means well, but gets into everyone's business. The books are very tame with no cursing and are very PG. I usually like more racy books like horror and mystery, but these are great. Here is her website so you can look at the books. The first book is Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind.

http://www.missjulia.com/fr...

If you haven't read anything by Nicholas Sparks, you definitely should. He is amazing!

You'd probably like Ron Rash. Serena is his latest--a retelling of Macbeth in Cold Mountain territory.

I agree with Goddess on Sharyn McCrumb. Also add to the list Jan Karon, a former resident of Blowing Rock who wrote a wonderful series set in the fictional town of Mitford (Blowing Rock). The first in the series is "At Home In Mitford".

Sharyn McCrumb...I love her...Ballad of Frankie Silver, The Rosewood Casket...She Walks These Hills...The Songcatcher...The Hangmans Beautiful Daughter...she writes other stuff but these are my favorites.

Wilkes county is mentioned in most of these...so is surrounding communities. They are light reading but very good.

I love to read fiction set in North Carolina, particularly the mountains and foothills (my favorite part. You can keep everything between Raleigh and the coast!) Can you recommend any? I don't care if they're well known or not.