GROWING UP IN APPALACHIA

Book excerpt: If, when you read one of my many fictional stories-Including eight books-set in Appalachia, you find people, places, things, and events similar to the true ones depicted here-so be it. We write what we know. All the stories herein took place in my home area of Appalachia, leading up to my graduation from high school. In the "Aftermath" section of each, I tell what happened later to most of the characters, including me. In reading through it, you will notice little in the way of continuity. In telling such stories, it is sometimes better to lump parts of the saga together as they fit. The balance might not be perfect, but you get the drift as the book goes along. Some of the people had positive effects on my life; some were negative. But I learned from all of them. The lives of my parents' generation, mine, the one which followed mine, and the one growing up there now, have differences. I hope each one is chronicled, as I have attempted to do mine.