A seamlessly told and scrupulously detailed history of the Hartsoe clan of Haw County, North Carolina, Love and Lament is that rare novel that brings the gritty, rural past to vivid life. I could very nearly smell the moonshine (the moonshiners too!). Pass a few hours with Mary Bet Hartsoe and family. You won't regret it.

There is a difference between writing and being an author. Authors talk. I'm standing here talking now. This has nothing to do with writing.

It's a chore for a fellow to fear for his life more than once in an evening.

A seamlessly told and scrupulously detailed history of the Hartsoe clan of Haw County, North Carolina, Love and Lament is that rare novel that brings the gritty, rural past to vivid life. I could very nearly smell the moonshine (the moonshiners too!). Pass a few hours with Mary Bet Hartsoe and family. You won't regret it.

For most people who write, writing is a compulsion. If I could be healed of it, I would, and I think a lot of people who write feel the same way.