Where are you from, where did you go, and where are you now?

I was born in West Virginia. I've lived in (not in oder!): somewhere in Virginia; Jacksonville & Arlington & Fort Worth, Texas; Shreveport & Baton Rouge, Louisiana (I was in Baton Rouge a long long time); Alpha & Dayton, Ohio; and a few places I never stayed for long or don't recall or have forgotten.

I now live in the smoky mountains of western North Carolina - Haywood County - Maggie Valley, NC: this is the place I have come Home to and I hope to die here. If I die elsewhere, someone best get my ashes to my mountains and toss me around them or else I'll haunt them till Kingdom Come and beyond!

When was TENDER GRACES released? What about SECRET GRACES? And don't you have another novel coming out, SWEETIE?

TENDER GRACES went on sale April 2009--that's me drinking champagne at Osondu Booksellers at my very first ever signing--sadly, our little mountain town lost Osondu Booksellers to the economy woes in 2010.

SECRET GRACES went on sale April 2010. The SWEETIE novel will go on sale in the fall of 2010 (November) 

Are you a "Southern Writer?"

Well, hmmm. I suppose. I mean, my novels are called "Southern Fiction;" although "Mountain People" and "Southern People" can be the same, they can also be different. South Louisiana, the deep south, is quite different from the mountains of North Carolina and the Mountains of West Virginia. (Of course, different regions in the same state can differ--South Louisiana is world's apart from North Louisiana, and in North Carolina there are differing regions that are world's apart.)

I was born in the mountains, West Virginia, so I am a Mountain Girl. I have lived in the Deep South for many years, so I am Southern Girl. I currently live in Western North Carolina, so my mountain roots feel strong now.

It's hard to put things into categories sometimes, when it's not "genre fiction." My books have been called: literary fiction, southern fiction, women's fiction, best danged fiction in the whole danged world--okay, not that *laugh* -- Anyway, the deep south and the mountains are an important part of me, and so they are also an important part of many things I write, particularly my novels.

The novels were called "The Virginia Kate Sagas," but readers began referring to the books as The Graces. Since Bellebooks/Bell Bridge books is planning a "series," how many "Graces" books will there be?

Tender Graces & Secret Graces are the first two, and there is a planned third Graces to come out in 2011; however, there is talk about having at least one more, maybe. We'll see what VK and her family are up to. And, we'll see where it all goes!

Graces is a family saga. Are the books autobiographical?

No. Now, of course, there are incidents from my life that sneaked in to TENDER GRACES, but not as many as one may believe. Or there are incidents I twisted around a little to use. Things, for instance, like the snake polo – my brother really did ride his bike in the canal and “play polo” with moccasins just like Andy! My older brother was always a bit of a mystery to me, just as Micah is to VK. My younger brothers were sweet and inquisitive as Bobby is, except they were also pains in the arses as brothers will be (teehee). There is, however, one thing that is completely true, and I found it intriguing, so I used it. My biological mom did give up her children one by one—first my older brother, then me, then much later my younger brother. My stepmother took us in and raised us (she also adopted us)—she did a brave thing; yet, I now recognize my bio-mom must have done a brave, selfless thing as well. I can’t forget to mention my father, for he wanted his kids with him and we all know how those stories can turn out sometimes with men and new families and the “old families” left behind . . . maybe? Perhaps? But, my dad wanted us; my (step)mother wanted us—she and Dad created two more boys and BAM! Five kids! I do admit I had a crazy Maw Maw who is the reason Mee Maw exists.

I’ve also embedded secrets in the books, especially Tender Graces. I’ve put little nuggets of hidden things. Little surprises that no one may ever figure out or know.

With SECRET GRACES, the events are even further from my own life--there isn't much that I didn't make right up.

Muh-gen-dee. It’s French, but I haven’t a smidgen of French. My husband is a New Orleans native—which is pretty cool, for New Orleans (as all of South Louisiana) is such a lovely city of mystery, food, interesting people, beautiful historic architecture, and did I say food?

Stuff. Okay, more than that. He’s retired, but active in local theater—Hart Theater and Asheville Community Theater. He paints, too, and we’ve placed several of his paintings around our little log house. He’s good! He is on our cove’s board, too, so he can help protect the interests of our little area.

You love living where you are, don’t you?

Dang right. I love these mountains and I love the people here. I love Western North Carolina. Every day I wake up with gratitude to have found my Place here in Maggie Valley/Haywood County: I am Home. I was born in West Virginia and wanted, no, needed, to return to the mountains. When we visited here in 2004, I knew this was it. Good Man Roger felt the same way, too, for he turned to me and said, “Let’s look at houses.” I was stunned, but very glad. I thought he’d remain a Loo-see-anner boy. I thought I’d have to leave his happy butt there and come find my mountain on my own…ha! That’s not a knock at pretty Louisiana—boy, I wish I had a shrimp po-boy right now! It’s just I have to be here. I have to have the humming of the mountain under my feet. I have to hear the old voices. I have to listen to the spirits here. South Louisiana was a different voice, and it wasn’t my voice—as interesting as it is, it wasn’t mine and I wasn’t hers.
(Photo I took from my porch view.)

If you wrote your autobiography, what would the title be?

Once she quit crying, she had the last laugh.

Who were your early influences as a writer?

The Library – not a who, but a what. Well, sometimes a “Who” – because I met some really cool librarians in my time. Ones who took time with this shy girl and found the books she liked—particularly when I was in my “read every book about dogs and horses and wolves” phase.

I can’t walk into a library without feeling an overwhelming nostalgia. I should stop what I’m going right now and go to the library!

Do you have any pets?

We have a big fat lab/pit bull mix (we think it's pit bull, but he may be most all lab) named Jake. He’s sleeping at my feet right at this moment. Snoring.  His, and my, best friend Kayla left us and we’re both feeling a little lonely without her--except she visits as a ghost dog and that's nice. Which, I should mention here; in TENDER GRACES I have “memorialized” pets by using their names in the book—all are pets in the book, except Miss Darla.

We also have lots of critters that come to our feeders, including some fat coons (hmm, why are all our critters fat?). One of them I call “Boo Boo” is a big fat gray-faced coon. She sloooowwwwllly makes her way up the tree and eases onto the squirrel feeder. She’s not afraid of me when I walk out to say hello, but I never approach her or try to handfeed her. I respect that these are wild animals we live around. But, I feel an affinity for this old girl. I do. Photo is of Jake and Kayla and me one snowy mountain morning.

As an update, we have a new girl we adopted from Sarge's Adoption Center in Waynesville, North Carolina: Maggie Lou - Now I need to upload a picture of her!

What would you do if you had a million dollars right now?

Of course, there are personal things I’d like to do that involve my family and me, but, if I had money to do it with, I’d want to buy up land on my little mountain around my little cove so all development would stop. My muse trail is already decimated, and I hate to see more torn apart. You know, no one can begrudge someone wanting to live in these mountains, but do they have to tear down every tree on the lots? And do they have to make postage-sized lots because of greed? And do they have to have so many? I could go on, but anyone who knows me has heard this rant before!

What is your most valued possession?

I wish I could answer this easily. That would mean if there was a fire, I’d know exactly where to go. I could be gooey about it and say: my family, my friends. But when you say “possession” I think you mean “possession” as in stuff that I own, and I don’t possess family and friends. Okay, I’m digressing. I love to digress. So.

Has your life changed since you became a full-time writer?

Oh yes! I get to stay in my jammies if I want. And my hair can stick on its end. And I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. Heck I can eat supper at 3:00, and sometimes I do, like an old country granny. And I don’t have a boss telling me what to do while I mutter about him/her under my breath. And I’m never bored—which I often (always) was with an office or “regular” out of the house type job. There was never a job I ever had (other than writing and editing) that did not bore the snot out of me after a month or two, sometimes a week or two, and if it was really bad, after a day or two.

I’m a much happier person since I’ve been able to pursue who I am instead of what I had to do because I had to.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on the SWEETIE novel, which comes out fall 2010--yup, two books out in 2010: I am Insane. But, I wrote Sweetie a few years back when I challenged myself to write a novel in 30 days (that was before I knew about Nanowrimo, however).

And to anyone out there who has ever read any of my stuff, I love you for it. What would writers do without readers? We love you; we need you; we adore you. Don’t you ever forget that. Every time I sit down to write something, I am thinking about You. I wonder if you will love the words, the language, the characters. I wonder if you will read the secrets hidden. Find the little things I’ve hidden there. I imagine you reading and what you are thinking. We always say we’d write no matter whether our work was published or not. Yes, that’s true; however, really, ultimately, it’s all for you.

 

How do readers/book clubs, etc, get in touch with you?

I have a blog, twitter, facebook and the Facebook page is a regular old facebook page-not a "fan page;" and as well, if someone wants to EMAIL ME, they can do that. I do love hearing from readers, book clubs, and even those Et Ceteras! *MUWAH*

 

Photo by Christy L. Bishop, Waynesville, NC