I write southern historical fiction, local history, and I've written a devotional book. The two novels I'm writing are set in Virginia and the Carolinas in the 1760s. My weekly blog started out to follow my journey as a writer and a reader, but in 2025 it has been greatly expanded to include current events and politics in the United States as I see our democracy under attack from within. The political science major in me cannot sit idly by and remain silent.
We arrived at Lake Junaluska late on Thursday afternoon. Lake Junaluska is a conference center of the United Methodist Church. My vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, includes many images from the conference center. After checking in, we visited the bookstore in Harrell Center.
Lake Junaluska Bookstore is in the Harrell Center.
I was pleased to find copies of my book on the shelf in the bookstore.
The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on the shelf at Lake Junaluska Bookstore.Section in Lake Junaluska Bookstore where my book and other books published by Arcadia Publishing were displayed.
We had tickets to attend the Christmas portion of “The Messiah” that evening in Stuart Auditorium. It was a thrill to see the auditorium after researching its history for one of the vintage postcards in my book. The auditorium was originally green, so I was surprised to discover it is now a white building.
Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska Conference Center in 2014.
The Lake Junaluska Singers performed with back up from other singers and an orchestra that was made up of musicians from Asheville, Black Mountain, and Appalachian State University. It was a wonderful evening and a relaxing way to end a very busy day of traveling and visiting bookstores.
Stuart Auditorium and the mountains reflected in Lake Junaluska.
Our next stop in Waynesville, North Carolina last Thursday was Blue Ridge Books. What better name for a bookstore selling my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina?
Blue Ridge Books, 152 South Main Street, Waynesville, NC.
I knew Arcadia’s sales rep had placed the book there in August, so I was eager to see it on the shelf and thank the owners face-to-face. (I wrote letters to all the stores in which the sales rep sold the book the week it was released.) I found two copies of my book in the Western North Carolina section of Blue Ridge Books.
Western North Carolina section in Blue Ridge Books, Waynesville, NC.
I introduced myself to Christine, one of the Book Associates. She asked me to autograph my books and then asked if it would all right if she added them to the “Autographed Books Make Great Gifts” table near the front of the store. “Of course!” That was a no-brainer!
Proud author with her book on the “Autographed” table at Blue Ridge Books.
By then, Jo Gilley, one of the store owners had come out front, so I got to meet her and thank her for selling my book.
We enjoyed the scenery as we drove from Brevard to Waynesville, North Carolina last Thursday. It had snowed the night before and a dusting of snow remained in the shaded areas beside US-276. Some exposed rockfaces were encased in ice, while some had long icicles hanging from them. We took time to stop and visit Looking Glass Falls, one of my favorite waterfalls in our state.
Looking Glass Falls, beside US-276 in Pisgah National Forest in Transylvania County, NC is 60 feet high.
There are two views of Looking Glass Falls in my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
Icicles at Looking Glass Falls.
It was a cold but bright sunny day. I love driving on curvy mountain roads. US-276 is a good one. It was a great day!
Ice-covered exposed rocks in Looking Glass Creek.
We visited Mast General Store on North Main Street in Waynesville, North Carolina. No visit to Mast General Store is complete without a trip to the candy section. You pick up a basket and select how much of each wrapped candies you wish to purchase. You pay by the pound of candy; it’s all the same price. In addition to current popular candies, they sell some old-fashioned candies that were all the rage in the mid-20th century.
Mast General Store on North Main Street, Waynesville, NC.
I was happy to find my book on display and for sale at Mast General Store. I hope it’s available at all their locations in western North and South Carolina.
My book displayed at Mast General Store in Waynesville, NC.
Our next stop last Thursday after lunch in Saluda was Highland Books in Brevard, North Carolina. What a nice independent bookstore in this college and tourist town. I was thrilled to find two copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, on the shelf in the regional books section!
Highland Books in Brevard, NC
I got to meet the bookstore owners, Peggy and Tim Hansen. They asked me to autograph my books and then Peggy affixed “Autographed Copy” stickers on the front covers and put a “Signed by the Author” sign on the shelf.
Janet, signing copies of her book at Highland Books in Brevard, NC.
They were really nice people. I was glad I got to thank them personally for making my book available in their store. I could get used to this!
My book on the shelf at Highland Books in Brevard, NC.
I set out last Thursday on a fabulous weekend in the mountains of North Carolina. It was a combination trip for business and pleasure. Thursday was almost exclusively dedicated to publicizing and marketing my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It was a crisp, clear winter day. Conditions couldn’t have been better for the busy day I had planned.
Fireside Books and Gifts in Shelby, NC
My first stop was Fireside Books and Gifts in downtown Shelby, North Carolina. Carrie, there, was very friendly and gracious. When I introduced myself and showed her my book, she immediately said, “I’m expecting two copies of it to arrive today.” Needless to say, I was thrilled that she had heard of the book and had already placed an order!
Fireside Books and Gifts is a nice independent bookstore in the county seat of Cleveland County. Shelby area residents are fortunate to have such a good bookstore.
It was encouraging to start the day with such a positive experience.
With my sister/trusty photographer in tow, my next stop was for a hamburger at Ward’s Grill in Saluda. Ward’s is adjacent to Thompson’s Store, which is the oldest grocery store in operation in the state of North Carolina. Founded in 1890, it has been in operation for 124 years!
From Saluda, it was on to a bookstore in Brevard. Stay tuned!
Making “cold calls” at bookstores and other stores that might sell my book is not my idea of fun because I was born without one single sales gene. It is difficult for me to enter a store and introduce myself and my book. Perhaps it will get easier with practice. I am much happier at the keyboard writing. That’s probably true of most writers, but promoting one’s book is part of the job.
I told my friend, Kay, that I was not cut out for life in the fast lane. She didn’t miss a beat and came back with, “Maybe you should of thought about that before you wrote a book!”
If you’ve been following my blog over the last week, I don’t want to leave you with the impression that my book was on all the bookstore shelves in the mountains. I visited several bookstores that had not heard of my book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. That was not a surprise.
Eastern National operates the gift/book shop at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville. There were a couple of Arcadia Publishing books available there, but mine was not one of them. The cashier said they will “probably have it eventually.” He said it has to be approved for sale by the national office, the regional office, and then the local office. I’m hopeful my book will be for sale there by spring. Winter is a slow time for tourists on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so spring will be good.
The woman at Fountainhead Books in Hendersonville was not very encouraging, but gave me the owner’s business card and told me to have Arcadia contact the owner directly. I did that when I got home, and Arcadia is following up with Fountainhead.
The Fountainhead Bookstore in Hendersonville, NC.
Joy of Books is the other bookstore in Hendersonville. The woman there was upbeat. She has never ordered books from Arcadia, but she has ordered from History Press and she knew that the two companies recently merged. I’m hopeful that she will order my book.
Joy of Books in Hendersonville, NC.
All the contacts I make while promoting The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina will serve me well if I get to write additional vintage postcard books for Arcadia Publishing and when I get my historical novel published. The title I’ve given that 98,000-word manuscript is The Spanish Coin. Someday….
After my cousin suggested that The Wrinkled Egg in Flat Rock, North Carolina would be a good place for my book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to sell, I passed that information on to Arcadia Publishing. The sales department followed up with Virginia and she ordered a dozen copies for her store! I dropped by The Wrinkled Egg on Tuesday afternoon, although the fog was getting thicker by the mile and I hesitated to leave the interstate. Virginia was not in but I enjoyed talking to Patty. My book had not arrived, but I hope it will be available there before Christmas.
The Wrinkled Egg on a foggy December day in Flat Rock, North Carolina.
The Wrinkled Egg is a quaint gift shop in lovely Flat Rock. Across the street from the famous Flat Rock Playhouse of North Carolina, the shop is in a perfect location for the convenience of shoppers and visitors to this village that is tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Flat Rock. Carl Sandburg and his wife bought a farm there and lived out the last years of their lives there. Their home, “Cannemara” is a State Historic Site and is open for tours. Plan a trip to Flat Rock, where you can visit Cannemara, take in a play at the Playhouse, and shop at The Wrinkled Egg!
My two-day trip to Tryon, Hendersonville, Canton, Asheville, and Flat Rock was an energy booster for me. It was my first opportunity to visit the area covered by my vintage postcard book and see my book on store shelves there. I enjoyed meeting bookstore owners and employees and it was indeed a thrill to see my book on the shelf at several stores!
I visited the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville on Tuesday. How I have missed it for all these years is a mystery. I love driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
The visitors center cannot be seen from the road. It is located about five or six miles south of the Folk Art Center — one of my favorite places in the mountains — and adjacent to the parkway headquarters. The building is eco-friendly. It is difficult to tell in the photograph, but grass and weeds are growing on the sod roof! It reminded me of a storybook I had as a child that had a drawing of a house with a cow grazing on the roof. I want to return to the visitors center next summer and see what the roof looks like then.
Outside view of the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville.
Imagine my surprise when I walked into the bookstore/gift shop in the visitors center and found my book displayed on the shelf! I did not know the visitors center had my book in stock. Since there was only one copy, the employee said, “I guess the rest of the copies have sold.” I don’t know how many copies they started with or when they received the book. I hope they will restock it!
Janet with her book at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center near Asheville, NC.
I want to stop by the visitors center again on my next trip to Asheville. I was on a tight schedule on Tuesday and did not have time to look at anything but my book.
It was a treat on Tuesday morning to spend an hour or so at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Alsace had invited me to come by and autograph copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I met Alsace and Malaprop’s owner, Emoke B’Racz. Erin retrieved some of my books out of the window and the ones on display in the regional books section so I could autograph them.
My book was prominently displayed, which was a thrill. Malaprop’s is the quintessential independent bookstore. It has a great atmosphere and welcoming staff. I told them I wish we had a bookstore like it in our area. After following Malaprop’s website and receiving their weekly e-newsletters for several months, I was glad to finally get there in person. I could have easily spent the day there.
If you ever get to Asheville, be sure to visit Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe at 55 Haywood Street. It is a book lover’s heaven!Janet with her book at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC on December 2, 2014.
On the way to my speaking engagement at the public library in Canton, North Carolina on Monday morning, I dropped in on The Book Shelf at 94 North Trade Street in Tryon, North Carolina. A delightful independent community bookstore, The Book Shelf has been a fixture in Tryon since 1952.
I was thrilled to find two copies of my vintage postcard book, The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on a shelf in the regional books section! With the front cover facing out, the book was quite eye catching. I was very pleased. Penny Padgett, the owner of The Book Shelf, was not in the store at the moment. Her employee, Judy, was very pleasant and welcoming.
With a recommendation from Judy, my sister and I enjoyed lunch just up the street at The Lavender Bistro. It was a lovely restaurant with an impressive menu.
After lunch, I returned to The Book Shelf and got to personally thank Penny Padgett for selling my book. She asked if I could come back next spring and have a book signing. I assured her that I would love to do that.
I couldn’t have been more pleased with how my morning and early afternoon went in Tryon. It was a great way to start out a two-day trip to the North Carolina mountains to publicize my book. I look forward to visiting The Book Shelf again.
The entrance to The Book Shelf on Trade Street in Tryon, NC.Front window of The Book Shelf in Tryon, NC.
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