Hello and welcome to my official author's website - a place for you to encounter and hopefully enjoy the things I have written over the years about faith, family, and history.
I am a native and lifelong resident of Watauga County, North Carolina, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, where many of my ancestors settled by the 1790s, resulting in some of my family having been here for eight or more generations. This rich and lengthy heritage sparked my early interest in genealogy and local history and, at the age of eleven (quite a few moons ago!), I embarked on a quest to write books about each of my four grandparents' families. I published three of those over a period of decades and have one more to complete. Beyond these genealogical endeavors, I have also delved into other aspects of my county's history (including a well-known murder case), resulting in the publication of a few other books, ideally with more to follow. Additionally, I have composed quite a few personal reflections about Bible passages, my faith in Jesus Christ, and the Christian life.
I am a graduate of Appalachian State University in my hometown of Boone, North Carolina (BA in Political Science/MA in Education with a social studies concentration) and also worked at the university for nine years before being employed at Samaritan's Purse, a Christian international relief organization, where I have worked for nearly thirty years.
Perhaps because I'm blood kin to a number of craftsmen, musicians, and storytellers, I have always needed and enjoyed creative outlets. Aside from writing, I have dabbled through the years in art (pencil drawings in particuar), residential design/decor (enjoying my log home, which sits on part of my maternal grandparents' former farm and has an inspiring view of the mountains), collecting and refinishing antiques, amateur photography, and even a bit of cooking.
I have also had the privilege to travel quite extensively, visiting more than 60 countries through both personal and work-related trips, and I have appreciated the opportunity to expand my worldview in the process. In the words of Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejuidce, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.... Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Again, welcome! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out. I am glad you are here.
Hello and welcome to my official author's website - a place for you to encounter and hopefully enjoy the things I have written over the years about faith, family, and history.
I am a native and lifelong resident of Watauga County, North Carolina, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, where many of my ancestors settled by the 1790s, resulting in some of my family having been here for eight or more generations. This rich and lengthy...
On a cold and snowy night in 1972, three members of one family were murdered in their house on the outskirts of the small town of Boone, North Carolina. Strangled and placed headfirst into a water-filled bathtub, the victims were Bryce Durham, 51, owner of a local car dealership; his wife, Virginia Durham, 44, who provided clerical support for...
Prior to its formation in 1849, Watauga County was a hunting ground for the Cherokee and part of the trail blazed by frontiersman Daniel Boone, for whom the county seat was later named. Primarily settled by whites after the Revolutionary War, many of the county’s earliest families came to the Appalachians from the Piedmont region of North...
In keeping with the viral social media phrase, “I was today year’s old,” I was today years old when I learned there is a website wholly dedicated to news about potatoes. It’s called “Potato News Today,” and one of its subcategories is “Potato People with Big Hearts.” And boy, do I know some!
It all started when a children’s home in our part of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina realized the three potatoes in their pantry were outnumbered by the kids needing to be fed. The staff prayed...
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the death of my father – the man I am frequently told I look like…a chip off the old block, as the saying goes. He and I were the same height and had the same shoe size. I turned prematurely gray as he did. I have his scrawny legs and flat feet and am developing his pot belly. While I did not inherit the athleticism he possessed in his younger days, I believe that whatever degrees of creativity, artistry, musicality, and wit I have are results of his share...
In the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Into each life some rain must fall.” We’ve certainly had our share of literal rain this past month, but today’s figurative rain came in the form of a text from a friend letting me know that Dolly Parton had died. Somewhat in disbelief, I fact-checked it online and quickly saw the many headlines confirming it. Even though I knew she was 80, it seemed she would be around forever.
It’s hard to articulate why such news seems so personal, but I think...
