Award-Winning Southern Writer

Sharyn McCrumb is best known for her Appalachian "Ballad" novels, including the New York Times best sellers The Ballad of Tom Dooley, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, and Ghost Riders, which won the Wilma Dykeman Award for Literature from the East Tennessee Historical Society and the national Audie Award for Best Recorded Book. Her current novels are Prayers the Devil Answers, the story of the last public hanging ever carried out in the United States, and The Unquiet Grave, the story of West Virginia's Greenbrier Ghost.

New Edition of "The Songcatcher"

20th Anniversary Edition from Laurel Hill Press

Sharyn McCrumb's best-selling novel The Songcatcher, the story of Scotsman Malcolm McCourry's journey to the Appalachian frontier and the song that passes through the generations of his family, is available in a new print edition. "The Songcatcher," a New York Times Notable Book inspired by the family of Sharyn McCrumb, is published by Laurel Hill Press.

Songcatcher Hero Signature Found

Malcolm McCourry Document

Revolutionary War soldier Malcolm McCourry has many descendants (including Sharyn McCrumb). Her novel "The Songcatcher," chronicling his life, inspired several of her newfound cousins to research further. Michael from Indiana located an 18th century document bearing the signature of old Malcolm himself. The original is on microfilm in the Sol Finestone Collection of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. Seeing this brought the past a little closer for all of us.

Nora Bonesteel's Necklace

Limited Edition

Nora Bonesteel's necklace of Appalachian minerals-- serpentine for the Serpentine Chain; unakite, the seer's stone & state stone of Virginia; and a southwest Virginia fairystone (staurolite) pendant is available in very limited quantities. The mineral occurs naturally, embedded in the surrounding rock in a twinned crystal formation in the shape of a cross. Mountain legends attribute them to the little people, the magic beings in Cherokee lore.

Each necklace (ca. 20") comes with a card explaining the minerals it is made of. $40 plus $4 shipping. Expect delivery in 1 to 2 weeks.

The Story that Inspired "The Rosewood Casket"

Nance Dude- Haywood County NC

In the winter of 1913, a 65-year-old woman, Nance Dude, was found guilty of causing the death of her 2-year-old granddaughter by burying her in a cave in Haywood County, NC. She was almost lynched and ended up serving 15 years of hard labor of her 30-year sentence as a convict at the women’s prison in Raleigh. This incident inspired Sharyn McCrumb's New York Times bestselling novel "The Rosewood Casket."

The Songcatcher's Magic Stone

What kind of stone did Malcolm carry for luck?

What kind of stone was it? ~ In "The Songcatcher" young Malcolm McCourry was given a stone from the Holy Isle of Iona to protect him from drowning. Iona marble-- mixed with serpentine-- has been regarded as a good luck talisman for centuries. Here is more about it: http://www.alexander-ritchie.co.uk/marble.htm. Also Two Skies Scotland (on Facebook) makes jewelry from Iona marble.

If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O

Now Available on Kindle

The first of the Ballad novels, "If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O," is now available on Kindle. The award-winning, novel, a New York Times notable book, introduces Spencer Arrowood in a tale of haunted pasts and memories of the 60's in the mountain town of Hamelin, TN.

The Unquiet Grave

The Unquiet Grave, an account of the Greenbrier Ghost, published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

The Unquiet Grave

An account of the Greenbrier Ghost, The Unquiet Grave, published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

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Prayers the Devil Answers

"Years later, after the tragedy, someone remembered the Dumb Supper and what had happened there. That was the cause of it, they said, because the ritual wasn't a game after all. It really was magic, but magic has rules, and she broke them."

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Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past

In a story of spirits, memories, and angels unaware, Sharyn McCrumb revisits the mountains we call home, the folk we call family, and a familiar message that there is more to this world than the eye can see... especially at Christmastime.

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King's Mountain

The story of the Revolutionary War battle that changed the course of the war. Told from the points of view of Patriot leader John Sevier and Tory camp follower Virginia Sal, the novel brings to life the people and events in the southern front of the Revolution - a story largely ignored by the history books.

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The Devil Amongst the Lawyers

When a pretty young schoolteacher is charged with murder in 1930's Appalachia, the national press use it as an excuse to sell papers - and to demonize the region, raising social issues that go well beyond the fate of one defendant.

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The Ballad of Tom Dooley

Now from the pen of the award-winning Appalachian writer comes the true story behind the most famous mountain ballad of all: the legend of Tom Dula. The Ballad of Tom Dooley brings to life the star-crossed lovers of this mountain tragedy.

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Ghost Riders

"Some wars don't end when the generals shake hands and go home." -- Malinda Blalock, from Ghost Riders

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The Songcatcher

Trace one American family from the Revolutionary War to the present by following an English ballad as it is handed down through the generations.

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The Ballad of Frankie Silver

On July 12, 1833, Frankie Silver became the first woman in the state of North Carolina to be hanged for murder. Burgess Gaither, the 1832 Clerk of the Court for Burke County, narrates the story from her arrest to her execution. As he began to understand the true nature of events, he wonders if there is such a thing as equal justice under the law.

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The Ballad of Frankie Silver (Paperback)

On July 12, 1833, Frankie Silver became the first woman in the state of North Carolina to be hanged for murder. Burgess Gaither, the 1832 Clerk of the Court for Burke County, narrates the story from her arrest to her execution. As he began to understand the true nature of events, he wonders if there is such a thing as equal justice under the law.

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The Rosewood Casket

"Dying cost nothing and could be done alone; otherwise, Randall Stargill might have lived forever."

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She Walks These Hills

"Don't shoot! It might be Harm!" say the new bumper stickers in east Tennessee. Hiram (pronounced in mountain dialect Harm) Sorley is the focus of a manhunt involving most of the area's law enforcement officers. There's just one problem: nobody wants him caught.

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The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

The first stirrings of The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter were a series of images that bobbed up out of my subconscious...

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If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O

Strange days tracks everyone down in the little mountain town of Hamelin, when the high school reunion of the class of '66 awakens old ghosts from the past. This first novel in Sharyn McCrumb's acclaimed Ballad series was a New York Times Notable Book.

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Faster Pastor

Camber Berkley, a young stock car driver, wrecks his car on a winding mountain road. The local authorities give him a choice: serve jail time, or teach the local ministers to drive stock cars.

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Once Around the Track

The adventures of story of an all-woman NASCAR team that hires a "pretty" male driver. With a female version of Viagra for a sponsor and the driver’s evil manager thwarting the team’s efforts, it is a wild ride both on and off the track.

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St. Dale

Winner of the 2006 People's Choice Award in Fiction by the Library of Virginia and the James River Writers Association and the 2006 Book of the Year Award from the Appalachian Writers Association.

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