" The Storycatcher " by Author Ann Hite

The agonizing  wait is over ! Tuesday September 10, 2013 Ann Hite's second novel
 " The Storycatcher" hits the shelf of your favorite book store.........

I fell head over heels for 16 year old Shelly Parker in the pages of Ann's first novel " Ghost On Black Mountain"
(which was not only a Townsend Prize Finalist but won  Ann Hite " Georgia Author of the Year 2012 for First Novel")

when Shelly said;

 " we was the only Negroes on the mountain and that made for a mighty lonely life. All I had was Faith Dobbins who made me her baby doll until I got old enough to be her maid"


" The Storycatcher " is Shelly Parkers story. 16 year old Shelly has the "gift of sight" and them dead haint's have been bothering her for as long as she can remember. Sometimes they want to warn her to protect her and sometimes they just aggravate the daylights out of her wanting her help. Shelly does her best to ignore them most of the time but when that Black Mountain haint Arleen Brown decides she wants revenge on her beloved Faith Dobbins sinister daddy by taking over Faith's body, Shelly knows she's in for a fight to save Faith!
So Ann Hite takes us from Black Mountain, NC to the swampy marshes of Coastal Georgia as Shelly and Arleen  join forces to untangle years of lies and murder spanning from the 1930s to the 1980s....

For those of us book lovers who be came Ann Hite "addicts" after reading her first novel
"The Ghost On Black Mountain"  it's like an early Christmas present ! NO ONE among today's authors can out write Ann Hite when it comes to Southern Gothic. A few pages into " The Ghost On Black Mountain" I was saying I think  Ann has channeled the spirits of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Conner to write this book. A few pages into "The Storycatcher " I was convinced she had !!!
Her writing is very literary, beautiful, lyrical, poetic and spellbinding and I am hooked on it !!

You do not have to have read " The Ghost On Black Mountain "to enjoy " The Storycatcher"
it is a stand alone novel but you will enjoy it so much better if you have the back story of Shelly Parker & Faith Dobbins.....

"Ghost On Black Mountain" by Ann Hite

This debut novel....will blow you away!
I recently got a real good laugh when I read this comment on FaceBook by a well known author:
"these days it seems anyone with a keyboard thinks they can review books"

I was born in the "land of writers"...Mississippi is a who's who of Southern Lit.........
William Faulkner, Eudora Welty,Willie Morris,Ellen Gilchrist,Barry Hannah, Elizabeth Spencer, Shelby Foote, Alice Walker, Walker Percy,Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, Nevada Barr, Carolyn Haines, Charlaine Harris, Greg Iles, Melinda Haynes, John Grisham, Kathryn Stockett and Donna Tartt are just a fraction of the list.........

Having read everyone of these authors throughout my life along with countless others from the south yes,
I think I and my keyboard are qualified to review books.
Being qualified and doing are two different things my Mother would have said. I read lots of good books but I only review books that leave me feeling loss when they're over. Books I consider worthy of remembering not only the book but the author as well. When a true book lover reads a book she or he wants everyone to read, they've found a treasure !!!!!

I found treasure this week in this debut novel from Georgia author Ann Hite! I was so blown away by her prose, I lay the book down, went in search of Eric and said;
" this woman has channeled William Faulkner as her muse, she's a female Faulkner"
Throw in a dash of Ron Rash, Sharyn McCrumb, Flannery O'Conner and Sue Monk Kidd and you have.... ANN HITE !



"Ghost" is set in Black Mountain, NC, Asheville, NC and Darien, GA..............
Told though the strong voices of 6 women linked together forever by the love,betrayal and evil deeds of one handsome, dastardly mountain man Hobbs Prichard................



Nellie; " he looked so far off I was afraid he might never come back"

Josie; " it's a weakness trying to keep our daughters from making the same mistakes. But I didn't make one bit of difference, I didn't stop one thing"

Shelly; " we was the only Negroes on the mountain and that made for a mighty lonely life. All I had was Faith Dobbins who made me her baby doll until I got old enough to be her maid "


Rose; " she was prettier than me. If I had to compare myself to this girl, I was an elephant dressed up in ribbons and satin to disguise my tough hide"

Iona;" it would take me years before I came to understand that every thought that came out of my head had rolled downhill from something she tried to instill in me for better or worse"

Annie; " a mother has no business living with her daughter. I might tell some important secret when I start to lose my mind"


Hobbs Prichard's evil deeds cause spirits to roam Black Mountain and these women are the ones they haunt!!


Below is a trailer for the book set to Mississippi Delta Blues which I have no doubt pleases Faulkner............ :)

" THINKING "

I'm thinking I'm exhausted lately! I know what you're all thinking, you should be! I really haven't done much lately and not because there is not a mile long list of things that REALLY need doing either. I just suddenly ran out of ZIP ! My energy has entered the G zone! GONE!
So I'm doing a lot of just sitting and thinking............

Thinking that the 2010 Farmer's Almanac is not so full of good news for some of us....

Look at this Winter Weather prediction will you......That's us between the L & D in the word cold! I like COOL not COLD !!!! I knew after the crazy Summer weather we've had, something was up!

I'm thinking too this new issue of Oxford Magazine I got yesterday is the best one yet!

All about Southern Literature and Southern Writers! A great article about the "muse " by Alabama Author Rick Bragg! A great article by Graham Hillard on why Faulkner is taught in classrooms! Also a Southern Literature Poll of the 10 best Southern Novels and 5 best Southern Non-fiction books of all time compiled by 134 Scholars and writers. There is also a list of 30 under- rated Southern Books. I was shocked at how many of these books I own! :)

Reading this got me to thinking about great books I've read and would like to re-read this fall.

I have read all three of these books twice. My first set of these burned in my house fire. I replaced them and read them again about 10 years ago. In 1954 Helen Hoover and her husband bought a lake shore cabin for a get-a-way place in the wild north woods of Minnesota. They ended up moving there full time. She wrote, he illustrated. These are wonderful books and I'm ready to read them once more!

This Louise Dickinson Rich book is also a fabulous read about living in the wild! I'm going to read it again also. Sometimes I'm just in the mood to go back to an old favorite, do you ever do this?

I'm also thinking that my exhaustion might be alleviated by a week stay in this wonderful Smoky Mountain Cabin.................sitting on that porch reading the above books!

And.....taking in this view! I'm not sure I can wait till November though! I'm TOO homesick for the mountains!!!!!!! :)

Have a great day !!!!! :)

" In The Company Of Masters " Part ONE............... John Berendt.. .

As most of you are aware, I went down to New Orleans
yesterday to attend two of the Master Classes in the
Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. The two I chose
were two of my favorite authors whom I believe to be
true Masters of their craft, John Berendt and Rick Bragg!
Part One: JOHN BERENDT................


I doubt that there is anyone reading this blog who has not
read his Pulitzer Nominated Bestseller:
" Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil" or at least
seen the movie..........
I knew about Savannah before John's book came out due
to Eugenia Price, one of my favorite historical fiction authors.
I had read all of her books which are based in this area.
It was John's book however that made me fall deeply in love
with Savannah and long to experience it for myself!

Savannah herself IS the main character of "Midnight"
His class yesterday was about:
" Capturing The Character of Place"..............




The room where these Master Classes were held was
like stepping back in time to the parlor of a beautiful
antebellum mansion...........
The room filled to capacity and over flowing with
literary minded people ! I felt so blessed to be there!







We listened intently as the accomplishments of our Master
teacher were heralded and he was introduced ........







Now all of you know how partial I am to Southern Writers!
They are a special breed, myself included. I often say
" we write with a need to fix the wrongs" especially those
of us from the "deep south" where so much pain and misery
is attached to the backbone of slavery and the civil rights era.
John is not from the south but he truly understands her!
I learned from him that there are, 150 different southern
accents and that in writing place, you have to get it right!




Here John reads the Eudora Welty story:
" Where Is The Voice Coming From"
Eudora wrote this story the night Civil Rights
Leader, Medgar Evers was gunned down in his
front yard in front of his wife and children. It is
a perfect example of capturing "place" as it turned
out to be an exact literary profile of the killer who
at the time of her writing, was unknown!


Tennessee Williams(1911-1983)
Eudora Welty(1901-2001)
William Faulkner (1897-1962)
These three Masters are all Mississippi Writers.
I was very proud to discover that these three along
with Alabama's Master, Walker Percy(1916-1990)
and Georgia's Master, Flannery O'Connor(1925-1964)
are the Master's who have influenced his writing!


John Berendt.....................
" If you are writing place, you must create it!
Smell it, taste it, feel the wind, hear it. When
you have captured the place, the characters
will step out and take over"




During the signing, we had an interesting
occurrence. John had never seen this slick
face paperback version of his second book!
He believes it to be a special printing and I
at that moment, wasn't sure where I'd bought it.
Later I remembered that I had actually bought
it in an antique shop in Savannah!



It was truly a wonderful experience to listen and learn
from the man whose writing I so admire! However the
best part was standing next to him to have a picture with
him to add to my collection! I have never been photogenic
but he looks awesome!




John assured me he would be visiting The Writer's Porch
to view this post, so please leave a comment if you are a
fan of this Literary Master!


For all of us John Berendt fans........we have been to Savannah
and Venice, and due to a few hints........I believe we will be in the
magical city of New Orleans next!