I hope you will enjoy my new blog … starting as my tenth novel in the Smoky Mountain series is getting ready to publish this spring in April 2017.  DADDY’S GIRL will take readers to visit the colorful, charming mountain town of Bryson City, North Carolina, on the southern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

My husband J.L. and I have enjoyed many trips to the Bryson City area.  We love the colorful, small mountain town, perfect to walk around and explore in.  The Smoky Mountain Railroad depot sits right in the heart of Bryson City, offering scenic train excursions, and the downtown streets spill over with quaint shops, galleries, scenic parks along the Tuckaseegee River, and wonderful little cafes and restaurants. One of our favorite spots is Soda Pops with its vintage 50s-60s décor—a great place to get homemade milkshakes, sodas, ice cream, or an old time banana split.

You’ll find it on Everett Street not far from the Chamber of commerce’s red caboose.

Scenes in DADDY’S GIRL will not only take readers around the town of Bryson City—and for a visit to Soda Pops—but to the Deep Creek Campground area at the base of the Great Smoky Mountains. Many beautiful hiking trails wander out of this campground to wind along mountain streams and beside waterfalls. The photos below were taken on Deep Creek Trail in November when the fall colors were a glory to see.  The falls pictured are Tom Branch Falls, not far up the Deep Creek Trail and Indian Creek Falls, a quarter mile off intersecting Indian Creek Trail.  You’ll find Deep Creek Trail a lovely, easy to walk trail any season of the year—so look for it when you are in this North Carolina area of the Smokies.

And remember to pick up DADDY’S GIRL this April through your favorite local bookstore or on Amazon.