On Vonore, Tennessee - The Home of Dragging Canoe and The Beginning of My Writing Journey

On a Tuesday in August 2016, I found myself in the mountains praying 

“Dear Lord— should I continue working? Will I ever write? Should I retire in the mountains or on the beach?” 

On Wednesday, my prayer led me to a cabin in the mountains that I felt I couldn’t purchase 

because I had to sell my condo (and that process would take months). 

A day later (Thursday)while driving down the mountains, I thanked the Lord for showing me the cabin, 

but reminded Him my condo was not for sale yet -- so the cabin was not a realistic possibility. 

I had no phone signal until I stopped at a restaurant in Vonore, Tennessee around 3 o’clock that afternoon. 

As soon as I ordered, my phone rang. 

It was the manager of my condominium complex asking if she could show my condo at noon the next day 

[Even though it wasn’t on the market].  I agreed, and on Friday, just three days after my prayer, my condo sold. 

Thus,the Lord sent me a clear signal that it was time to enter a new adventure -- in a place that inspires writing.

On Writing "Strings – The Story of Hope"

Each morning after I settled into my North Carolina hideaway, I sat in my rocking chair facing the Lord's extraordinary work of nature. 

I read the Bible, then I tried to be still.  After all, that's one reason the Lord sent me to 

an isolated retreat in the middle of the Pisgah National Forest.  

One morning as I looked across the mountain ranges, I heard the Lord's voice: 

"Your grandfather was born right over there." 

 In the next few days, I began my search for my grandfather’s birthplace.  

And in my search, trekking through one graveyard after another, I found the inspiration for "Strings - The Story of Hope".  

  It is loosely inspired by what I imagined during my mountain ventures -- 

the story of a 15-year-old girl who escapes her burning home only to encounter 

traumatizing events that bind inescapable strings around her soul. 

Almost There - How the Lord Continued to Carve An Inspirational Path

On April 5, 2019 en route to a photo shoot for my book jacket,

 I returned to the Vonore restaurant where I received that life=changing call.  

Driving there, I realized that that very location had an even more powerful meaning to my venture.  

Dragging Canoe (1738-1792) is a primary character in my book.   I had never heard of him until I began this writing journey.  

Dragging Canoe was Chief of Mialaquo "Great Island Town" on the Little Tennessee River.  

TVA's waters now cover that island.  Vonore sits at the heart of that area.

On arriving at the location for the dust cover photo shoot, just south of Vonore,  I took a quick photo of the sky.

Not until days later did I see the design of the clouds.  

Amazingly, in the sky above the location, the Lord had revealed a cross and an "S" for "Strings".

So, I thank the Lord every day for his guidance every step of the way.

In June, 2019 I launched my debut novel "Strings - The Story of Hope".