An Appalachian Summer
by
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CHAPTER ONE
Bitter Creek Virginia, 1993
Water rippled across the mossy rocks and eddied in the shallow pools. Crayfish swam under the flat ledges, dodging the girl's shadow. She crossed the shallow stream by leaping from one partially submerged stone to the next, instinctively aware of her footing.
With a guilty glance back toward the valley, she remembered her mother's voice. "Anna Margaret Wall, don't you be running off to the woods today. You have chores to do. And besides, your dad doesn't want you up there by yourself. It isn't safe."
The day had been far too beautiful for Anna to heed that warning. No matter how many chores would be left unfinished, or how much homework she had to complete, all she could think about was the cool, quiet woods. The rest could wait.
Blue dragonflies hovered around the muddy bank. When one landed on her arm, Anna froze, marveling at the gossamer wings. She brought the insect closer just as a red, flapping blur shot out of the alders beside her. Anna leaped. Before she recognized the blur as a cardinal, the sudden jolt of adrenaline sent her running up the trail, her small rucksack bouncing between her shoulders. She laughed at being frightened by a bird, but her mother's warning had made her nervous.
A large boulder stood sentinel over the trail. Anna climbed the slope behind the rock, locating familiar hand and footholds. A couple of stunted, green saplings aided her ascent, and in a few seconds she stood on top.
Warm wind passed through the tall maples and oaks that surrounded her. Dappled sunlight shifted across the rock's flat summit. Anna stood high above the trail, invisible to anyone who walked below. "Queen of the Mountain, Mistress of the Forest," she had shouted the first time she discovered the rock. Now she was too old for such silliness.
Using the rucksack as a pillow, she stretched out flat like the brown lizard that eyed her from a crevice. She took a deep breath of the sweet mixture of scents--rising sap, wildflowers and the thick damp mat of last year's leaves. In a few minutes, the warm sun and the hum of insects made Anna sleepy. She closed her eyes, and the time passed. She didn't hear a sound until he spoke to her.
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About the Book
Anna finds her Great Aunt Berta living in a ramshackle cabin, surrounded by fifty acres of prime hardwood forest that a development company insists on purchasing. The old woman defends her land with courage and a shotgun, but time is running out. She needs to impart her knowledge of herbal medicine and mystical gypsy practices to her niece before it’s too late.
The skeptical Anna must accept her aunt’s teachings and adopt the mantle of her mysterious Melungeon ancestry if they are to save the land from destruction. When Anna joins forces with Aunt Berta she becomes the enemy’s new target and the talk of the town.
This is Southern mountain story telling at its finest. A melody of anticipation and longing sung by characters you won’t forget.
About the Author
Carol A. Collier is the author of four novels and a soon to be published collection of short stories entitled: Sonoma, Tales of a Twisted Vine. Books in print are: An Appalachian Summer, River Dreams, Someone is Watching and Bokor. Collier's background is in education and psychology. Her fiction reflects an ongoing interest in Man's relationship to his environment--its destruction and its protection. Collier lives in Northern California and is hard at work on another novel.