The Allure of Staycations

By Linda Lovely

In what now seems like a former life, I frequently traveled on business throughout the United States and occasionally to Mexico, South America, and Europe. Now I seldom venture beyond the Carolinas. 

Yet I still have the opportunity to enjoy beautiful and varied vistas as well as vibrant urban areas. I also get to share the regional sights and delights with family and friends on my “Staycations.”

My husband and I live on Lake Keowee in Upstate South Carolina. That means people enjoy visiting our neck of the woods. From June through September, the lake is warm enough for visitors to jump off our dock for a swim. We’ve even had family (from Saskatchewan) take a dip at Thanksgiving! Year round, we can enjoy the lake via our “geezer craft”—a pontoon boat—or for the more athletic by peddling or paddling one of our kayaks.

But lakes are just one of our region’s charms. I recently took a house guest from Germany peach picking at Chattooga Belle farm, which offers gorgeous mountain vistas as well as peaches, grapes, apples and a distillery. And the season for apple picking (or just enjoying the cider) in the mountain apple orchards near Hendersonville, NC, has just begun.

There are too many mountain hiking trails to list. But, if you prefer hiking/walking with a side of urban fun, there’s the Swamp Rabbit Trail for walking and bicycling that runs from near Travelers Rest through downtown Greenville. That means there are ample opportunities to take an ice cream break or buy local honey for tomorrow morning’s biscuits.

Split Creek Goat Dairy, the inspiration for the fictitious Udderly Kidding Dairy, in my humorous, cozy Brie Hooker mysteries, also is a favorite with our company, especially in the spring when the baby goats are more entertaining than any human comediennes.  

Among other favorite show-off-for-company stops are the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, located in Clemson, SC. The gardens are gorgeous any time of the year. Always something blooming plus the paths through deep, shaded forest and beside creeks make you feel like you’re exploring virgin woods (except for the convenience of real bathrooms near the parking lot).

Then there’s Clemson University’s Death Valley football stadium. It looks as if I may be attending my first football game there with family on September 7 when our great nephew will be on the field (playing for Texas A&M, not Clemson). I don’t dare wear my Clemson earrings that day.

And I haven’t even mentioned the delights offered in and around Asheville, NC, including the Biltmore mansion and grounds, Biltmore Village, and the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway.

See, there are plenty of reasons our car is our ticket to adventure and the cost is less than a tank of gas.

So, do you enjoy “Staycations”? What attractions do you show off when you have visitors?

A Real Life Mystery: Proof Positive Truth Is Stranger than Fiction

By Robin Weaver

I’ve always known my family is strange…literally.  My grandfather’s name was Fern Hall Strange and I’ve traced his ancestry back to twelfth century Britain.  What I haven’t been able to decipher is what really happened with Gramps’ uncle, Noverta.
Great-Uncle Noverta “allegedly” killed his wife.  I say allegedly because Gramps was a no-nonsense sort of fellow who could call bullshh…eh, who didn’t let emotion cloud his rather superior judgment.  Since my grandfather didn’t believe Noverta was guilty, I have to presume innocence despite evidence to the contrary.

Here’s the thing.  The murder isn’t the mystery.  The strange twist (pun intended) in this tale is what happened after the conviction. 

What follows is strictly hearsay…
Shortly after Noverta’s incarceration in Jackson, Mississippi’s Parchment Prison, our hero/villain escaped from his cell.   Supposedly, the guards were bribed (now you know what happened to my family’s fortune J).  Our con somehow made his way to Colorado where he assumed a new identity--John Quincy Adams.  Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.  Under this pseudonym, Noverta remarried, sired five children, and get this, became the deputy sheriff.  No, really.

Our tale gets stranger still.  Noverta worked his way up to sheriff and flaunted his tin star for almost thirty years.  According to some sources, there was a deathbed confession, followed by a Time or a Life Magazine article.  I’ve done extensive research, yet have been unable to find any news story about Noverta.

Here’s the part of the mystery I unraveled.  What follows is factual.

With some extensive research (and a lot of luck), I found another person looking for Noverta.  The mystery woman was from—you guessed it--Colorado.  My fellow Noverta-stalker turned out to be Noverta’s granddaughter.  She was able to confirm Noverta had indeed been a sheriff, although she knew nothing about the murder (thus adding legitimacy to my suspicion that there was no magazine article).

Finding my distant cousin was an amazing thing, but finding the Adams side of the family tree enabled me to locate  Noverta’s nephew, Larry.  He told another story.

We’re back to hearsay, but believable hearsay…

The nephew told me the state of Colorado gave Noverta immunity.  He said Noverta’s wife committed suicide.  Noverta’s sons spent over $100,000 to clear their dad’s name, and eventually all charges were dropped.

I have not been able to confirm Larry’s story.  Being an author, I rather like the ending, although one might say it’s a bit convenient.  Hearing about my infamous great uncle spurred me to become a serious writer—maybe even a seriously strange one.  I’ll keep digging.  To coin a famous TV phrase, the truth is out there.

What about you?  Do you have any strange limbs in your family tree?




Blue Ridge Fear
Coming November 23rd
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All in the Timer (and other tools)

A simple kitchen timer is my favorite writing tool. I don’t use the digital ticker to keep track of how long I write—I use it as a device for discipline. You see, I have a form of adult ADD—that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. For me, the hardest part of writing is getting started. While the idea of sitting at my keyboard for an hour can be daunting, sitting for fifteen minutes is definitely doable. Thus the timer. Once I get started, I keep resetting my fifteen-minute segments and—you guessed it—I lose track of time.

I do have a few other tricks up my sleeve, or rather in my ultrabook. Using the spell checker goes without saying, but many writers don’t take advantage of the wonderful grammar options included in MS word. Word will actually track your passive sentences, clichés, and sentence structure.

Isn’t the thesaurus the best tool ever? If you don’t like the one that comes with Word, you can upload your own—or go to www.dictionary.com. And no serious writer can do without “Find & Replace.” Change a character’s name—no problem. Just type the old name in the find and the new name in the replace and make the change with a single click. You can also use this feature to get rid of those double spaces after a period.

Likewise, the comments tool can be used for much more than telling your critique partner no man would say, “Let’s talk about your feelings.” Use the comments during your first draft to find those spots where you need to add verbiage. Highlight words you want to double-check the meaning; it’s much easier to click the “Next comment” icon than to search through your document for notes or highlighting. Even better, my new computer came with a “sticky notes” tool. Works just like the 3M product for your electronic document.

And if you’ve ever lost a document, keeping backups becomes a way of life. In addition to the flash drive and zip drive I use to back up individual documents and my entire writing directory, I also mail a copy of my documents to myself. The good thing about emailing your info, is that you can access your documents from anywhere. However, make sure you password protect your documents.

Just to prove I have a life outside writing, here’s a couple hints for the kitchen:
--Use clothespins to reseal everything from bread to chips. An entire bag typically costs less than a single chip clip.
--Store your leftovers in plastic bags instead of bowls or Tupperware. Less dishes—thus more time for writing.

Okay, okay. Maybe I don’t have much of a life outside writing, but I hope you found at least one tip that makes your day easier. Do you have other writing tools you can’t live without?