Julia Taylor Ebel celebrates nature, heritage and cultural history through stories and poetry that speak to readers across generational lines. She is the author of six books, including The Picture Man; Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves; and  Jack Tales and Mountain Yarns as Told by Orville Hicks, which received the American Folklore Society’s Aesop Accolade.  Julia’s books reflect her commitment to keeping stories from North Carolina and to encouraging others to pass along their own stories.  www.juliaebel.com

Liz White -

Elizabeth Lazarides White loves to cook great recipes and to create her own

culinary dishes. Liz is passionate about food and passionate about taking care of everyone she meets. Some of that care is by “feeding” authentic Greek hospitality, you might say. Her passion for food and cooking brought continual requests for recipes from those fortunate enough to visit her at her home or at events she was asked to cater or attend. Her philosophy, “have Baklava will travel!!!” Opa is filled with Greek recipes, and her own inspired Greek cuisine.

www.myspace.com/greekcooking

www.opacookbook.com

(Photos available there.)

Orville Hicks grew up in a hollow near Beech Mountain, where Jack Tales and other folktales were told daily.  He tells these stories he learned from his mother and second cousin Ray Hicks.  As Orville spins yarns, the sparkle in his eyes and his contagious laughter reveal his love of his mountain heritage.

Orville received the North Carolina Heritage Award for lifetime work in keeping cultural heritage. His biography, Orville Hicks:  Mountain Stories, Mountain Roots, and folklore anthology Jack Tales and Mountain Yarns as Told by Orville Hicks are both award-winning books with author Julia Taylor Ebel.

www.juliaebel.com/orville.htm

Karen Cecil Smith is the author of the children’s picture book An Old Salem Christmas, 1840 and the biography Orlean Puckett: The Life of a Mountain Midwife.  Her children’s book received the North Carolina Society of Historians’ 2009 Clark Cox Fiction Award and was one of two finalists in the 2009 National Indie Excellence Awards. Ms. Smith’s stories and poetry have appeared in Woman’s World magazine, Writer’s Journal, and other national publications and literary journals.

Libby Bagby, from Roaring Gap, has authored two books on North Carolina's State Dog, the Plott hound. Lucky's Plott, A Plott Hound Tale shares the rescue of her Plott Lucky and teaches breed characteristics. Tracking Plott Hound History, filled with incredible primary source pictures, delves into these dogs' history and development. Lucky and Libby travel the Tar Heel state teaching children and adults about our canine state symbol. Visit their Web site at www.luckysplott.com.

Most people know her as a television news anchor (currently at WFMY New 2) but Carol Andrews has been writing stories since she was 7-years-old.  She never imagining that she would want to publish any of them.

Today, she is touring with her second book Speckled Angels (CAE 2008); realizing her books have a recurring theme: Kindness Counts! 

Look for more Carol Andrews as she explores all the fun characters currently residing in her head.

www.carolandrewsenterprises.com and www.digtriad.com

Mary A. Browning is a free lance writer and genealogist who focuses on Guilford Co., NC, and especially on Jamestown.  Her publications include these non-fiction works: Oakdale Cotton Mills (with Patricia M. Koehler), Remembering Old Jamestown, Historical Places In & Around Jamestown, NC; and Bending The Twigs in Jamestown.   She also writes a weekly column for The Southwest Record (Greensboro News & Record).   See: www.mabrowning.com   and www.mendenhallplantation.org.

Stephen Kirk is the author of Scribblers: Stalking the Authors of Appalachia and First in Flight: The Wright Brothers in North Carolina and co-author of Travel North Carolina:  Going Native in the Old North State.  His writing has also appeared in the Best American Short Stories series. He has edited over 150 books during his 22 years at John F. Blair, Publisher, in Winston-Salem.

www.blairpub.com

Brett Friedlander fancied himself as baseball player when he was a youngster. He quickly realized, however, that he was much better at writing about the game than playing it. That's why he became a newspaper columnist and reporter. A native of Atlanta and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, Brett has written about sports since 1981 for the Beaufort Gazette, the Annapolis Capital, and the Fayetteville Observer. Brett has covered the Final Four, the Masters, the Super Bowl, and the World Series, winning 24 national, state, and regional awards for his work. He is currently a columnist for the Wilmington Star-News and lives in Cary, North Carolina. Chasing Moonlight, a finalist for the Casey Award as the nation's best baseball book of 2009, is his first book. 

William F. (Bill) Kaiser, a Civil War buff, has had a long career as a news reporter, editor, publisher and free-lance writer. He has resided in the mountains of Western North Carolina for the past 17 years. His knowledge of Civil War events and research into life in the Appalachian Region before, during and after the war form the historic basis of Bloodroot. The story reflects experiences of people in the mountains during the Civil War. The upheaval in southern Appalachian society by events during the war still echo today in the towns, villages and "hollars" of the mountains.

Maggie Bishop is the author of novels set in the Mountains of North Carolina in the Boone area. "I started with romance and have turned to murder." In Perfect for Framing, greed and a lust for power lead to murder. In Murder at Blue Falls trail ride leader investigates when her horse finds a body. Emeralds in the Snow involves skiing at Sugar Mountain, an emerald mine, and a cold case murder. Appalachian Paradise is a five-day backpacking trip amongst the bears, boars and girl scouts. Meow Means Me! Now! is a rhyming feline allegory with poetry and photos.

http://maggiebishop1.tripod.com
http://damesofdialogue.wordpress.com
http://authorasguestspeaker.110mb.com

Terri Kirby Erickson is a North Carolina native and the award winning author of two collections of poetry, Thread Count (2006), and Telling Tales of Dusk (2009, Press 53).  Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, anthologies and publications, including A Prairie Journal, Basilica Review, Blue Fifth Review, The Christian Science Monitor, Dead Mule, JAMA, Pinesong, Pisgah Review, Toasted Cheese, Verse Daily, Wild Goose Poetry Review and many others.  She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a Best of the Net award in 2009.  Her website is http://terrikirbyerickson.wordpress.com.

Jerry D. Neal is the co-founder and executive vice president of marketing and strategic development of RFMD.  He has over 30 years experience in the RF and wireless communications industry and has co-authored two books with best selling author Jerry Bledsoe.  Mr. Neal was awarded the Doctor of Business Management Degree in 2001 from Southern Wesleyan University.  Beyond RFMD, Jerry plays an active role in both the business and education communities.  Mr. Neal is a director on the Professional Advisory Board of St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN and Victory Junction Gang Camp.

Patricia Koehler, a retired educator from Pennsylvania, has focused her recent writing on aspects of southern history. Her research resulted in articles on the role of Greensboro, NC, in the Civil War in The Civil War Ends: Greensboro, April 1865, and she co-authored Oakdale Cotton Mills, the history of the mill, its village and workers. The mill, located in Jamestown, NC, began operation in 1865 as the Civil War ended.  Koehler also co-produced the documentary, “Oakdale Cotton Mills: Close-Knit Neighbors.”  Other writing stems from her interests in history, education and collecting antique buttons.  www.arcadiapublishing.com

Joe Watson has a long-standing commitment to service which has taken him into the kitchen and the television studio and also led him to write a cookbook.  Cooking Guide for Men:  As Easy as A-B-C and 1-2-3 is written for men who, for various reasons, need to know basic cooking skills to provide for themselves and/or someone dependent on their care.  Joe has taught cooking on TV in Atlanta and on Turner Broadcasting.  He teaches classes in churches and uses his book primarily as a textbook.  The book is written to minister to the spiritual, physical, and social life of the users.

Nora Lourie Percival emigrated from Russia at the end of the Revolution and finally arrived in the United States in 1922. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Barnard College during the troubled decade before World War II.

In her busy life of family and work, the author's early writing aspirations languished; but in her later years a need grew to record her traumatic childhood, when she was a witness to history. After years of research and remembrance, and the fall of the Iron Curtain, the tale has now been told.

After her husband's death, she settled in the North Carolina mountains..

Fran Andrews was born and grew up in Archdale.  She married her childhood

sweetheart from Trinity High School.  After traveling with him during his Air Force

career, they returned to Trinity 30 years ago. A past Mayor of Trinity, Fran is a member

of Friends of Trinity and the Board of Directors for Archdale/Trinity Chamber of

Commerce.  She proudly claims 6 children and 16 grandchildren. Her book Trinity, North

Carolina: Birthplace of Duke University is a compilation of interesting facts, photos, and

fables about Duke University and its beginning.