Where I'm From...

 I've talked about finding an unexpected branch of my family before. I've got deep Appalachian roots. For this Northern, WPA girl, it was a surprise. But it's led to a bit of a research palooza over the last few years. Not just genealogy. Reading. (I know you're shocked.) One of my first finds was a bit of an intersection between my love of cookbooks and my interest in Appalachia. I picked up Victuals, Ronnie Lundy. I loved reading about the food of the region that was also a bit of a tour. And I felt sort of smug last week when we were watching Clarise and there were strings of beans drying in a house. I said, "Leather Britches." Himself looked at me like I was crazy (that's nothing new LOL)  I'm hoping to try drying my own this year. 

Anyway, I found a blog, Blind Pig and Acorn, that spends a lot of time talking about all manner of Appalachian things. This week, they had a great post about Appalachian books.  I've gone on a bit of a shopping spree since reading it. 

But I think one of the biggest influences this unexpected family history has had on me is my pottery. I did a report in school about Burlon Craig, which led to a read-a-thon about southern pottery, which led to discovering face jugs and their long southern history, which led to...well, a bit of a face jug addiction.

I've played with ash glazes and face jug variations ever since. I love that each one has its own personality. 

One of my complete joys was discovering my family came from near the Catawba Valley, which is the home of a lot of the potters I love.

I'll be spending a lot of time deep diving into my new collection of books about Appalachia. And someday, we're going to do a West Virginia/Virginia trip. I'm planning to visit places my family came from, as well as visit pottery studios in the region. I can't wait!

Family. Learning about where I come from has truly influenced where I am.  It's influenced my writing. It's been a fascinating journey so far and I think there will be a lot of fun twists and turns to come.

I love writing about families as well. My Hometown Hearts series is all about family. Family that's born. Family that's made. Friends who are family. Family that's unexpected. I hope you'll check them out.

Holly

 Hometown Hearts:

Crib Notes: Hometown Hearts #1

Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBook

A Special Kind of Different: Hometown Hearts #2

Kindle, iBook, Kobo, Nook

Homecoming: Hometown Hearts #3

Kindle, Kobo, IBooks, Nook

 

Suddenly a Father: Hometown Hearts #4

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Borrowed: Hometown Hearts #5

Available 1/5/21

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iBooks

Something Blue: Hometown Hearts #6 

Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Apple Books

Preorder: Something Perfect: Hometown Hearts #7 available 5/21

Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, Kindle

HollysWoodsStudio

Life Inspires: My Novel Freshman Experience

When I write, I draw from my life.  If you hang out with me here, or on social media, you might recognize tidbits from my life in my books.  Just One Thing was set primarily on Mondays and most weeks start with me wishing social media friends Monday Glee.  Carry Her Heart's heroine is a writer and a kindergarten story lady...yep, on both counts for me.  One of my early books, Fairly Human, is the last book in a series about a writer's fairy godmother characters coming to life.  If you ever read Heinlein, you might recognize his idea that well-loved characters really exist.  That book that I grew up in inspired my own twist on that theory.

Briar Hill Road was probably the most autobiographical book to date.  Oh, it's fiction, but we lost my mother-in-law to breast cancer, and in so many ways this book was an homage to her as well as me finding my way through that loss.

My life also is inspiring my ceramics class.  My father-in-law carved wooden Santas.  When I started the term, I gave myself the theme, Folk Art. (No, that was required in Ceramics II.  You just had to come up with seven projects.  Go ahead and roll your eyes that I added an element on to the requirement...my kids did. LOL) And of course, his Santas became an inspiration for me.  He was truly an artist...a folk artist. I told myself I could come close.  And the first few I made were directly inspired by what he did.  But now I'm branching out and doing some of my own design (that one in the top picture).  But he inspired them. 

I also made two face jugs.  Someone told me they were ugly, and they are. But that's the point....

"In the early part of the 19th century the form was adopted by white potters. The practice of making face jugs spread thoughout South Carolina and into Georgia, North Carolina and other states...The purpose of the jugs also evolved. The face jug became known as ugly jugs in the 1920's and was often used to store alcohol. The jugs became uglier in an attempt to identify the contents and frighten children." Chattanooga State Education

I've talked about finding out and exploring my Appalachian family history.  I loved doing these jugs...it helped me feel connected to these generations of people I never met. 

My FIL's Santa

I don't think we can disconnect from our life and our past.  It inspires us in so many ways. As I work in the studio, I love taking what my father-in-law did and adapting it to what I'm doing, or exploring family I've never known and learning their past through my pottery. As I write, I love adding small tidbits of my real life in my fiction.  My past inspires my present which leads me to my future...I love that continuity!  And if you've been following my Novel Freshman Experience posts you're going to see a direct inspiration in my new work-in-progress.  Stay tuned.

If you have a moment, I hope you'll check out one of my books.  There are a bunch on sale this month.  And you can see if you can find any of my real-life inspirations in them!

Holly

Another one of my FIL's Santas

Hold Her Heart
Just One Thing
Everything But...series
Fairly Human
Pickup Lines