Suwanee Festival of Books

Georgia gets a new book festival this year when the Inaugural Suwanee Festival of Books is held at Suwanee Town Center on August 28 and 29 (in Suwanee, Georgia, of course). If you just can't wait one more week for the Labor Day Decatur Book Festival, or you'd simply like to get warmed up for that event, the Suwanee event is well worth looking into.

Nearly one hundred authors will be on hand at the Suwanee festival, including many local, regional, and national favorites.

Among the presenting authors at the Suwanee Festival will be:

Terry Kay. Award-winning, Georgia Writer Hall of Famer, and local favorite, Kay will be giving a keynote presentation. Among his best known titles are To Dance With the White Dog, and his most recent title, The Book of Marie.

Phillip Lee Williams. Another Georgia Hall of Famer. Williams is a recipient of the Micheal Schaara Civil War Fiction Award. His upcoming epic poem, The Flower Seeker (about the life of William Bartram) ought to cause a stir in literary, history and natural history circles.

Joseph Dabney. James Beard cookbook winner Dabney will be on hand with his new book, The Food, Folklore and Art of Lowcountry Cooking. Pat Conroy, Nathalee Dupree, Savannah, Charleston, food.

Helen Ellis. Young adult, I love Harry Potter and vampires readers, here is your chance to meet the next big thing. Ellis' new book, The Turning: What Curiosity Kills, is already getting notice by fantasy loving teens (girls), and cat people, in the Big Apple and beyond.

Lisa Earl McLeod. Author, Gwinnett Daily Post writer, and syndicated columnist, McLeod will be there dishing out advice and good humor on all subjects from love to work to clean underwear.

S.A. Harazin. This Gwinnett author was nominated last year for an Edgar for her first young adult novel, Blood Brothers.

Donny Bailey Seagraves. The Athens area author will be there with her new coming of age in the South novel, Gone From These Woods.

Laura Knorr. This award-winning children's book illustrator will be there with her new book, Zero, Zilch, Nada, Counting to None.

Mark Braught. Award-winning illustrator (Harry Potter) Braught's new book, Ellen Craft's Escape From Slavery, will just be hitting the bookstores in time for the Festival.

Melinda Long. Suwanee is happy to welcome this New York Time's bestselling author of the children's book, How I Became a Pirate.

Jackie Cooper. Another Georgia favorite. Former Georgia Public Broadcasting book reviewer and author of The Bookbinder.

Other authors appearing include, Diane Shore, Patti Callahan Henry, Patricia Sprinkle and Rob Cleveland.

Plus, it's Suwanee Town Center, so there will be lots to do anyway (restaurants, shops, the park, and Farmer's Market).

For more information, check out the Suwanee Festival of Books at www.suwaneefestivalofbooks.com.

RMR.

Interview with Georgia Author and Certified Master Gardener Vince Dooley

I would like to thank Vince Dooley for taking time last week to speak with me about his new book, Vince Dooley's Garden--The Horticultural Journey of A Football Coach, with paintings by renowned artist Steve Penley. The book also includes a foreword by Michael Dirr and an afterward by Allan Armitage, both University of Georgia horticulturalists.

The horticultural journey of a football coach? I understand what an interesting subject that is to a lot of people. In fact, it might be the first time that such a book has been published. I don't know. SEC football legend discusses how he fell for hydrangeas! Of course that's likely to generate some interest, if only for the novelty of it.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently published a piece on Mr. Dooley's new book, covering it from the football angle. That article may be viewed at the link below:

http://www.ajc.com/homefinder/content/homefinder/stories/2008/08/06/dooley_garden_0807.html

Most people (in Georgia especially) likely associate Mr. Dooley with college football. And for good reason.

But Vince Dooley is also an avid "book person" (he has written some ten books and is widely read). He is a historian, a student of art, and is a world traveller. He has taken advantage of a career associated with universities to explore a multitude of subjects that interest him. And his interests seem to know no bounds.

"I find that there is great joy to learning and I have an inquisitive nature." states Dooley.

He also has a great love of gardening, although he has "only" been at it for about twelve to fourteen years, and considers himself a "relatively new" gardener.

I asked Mr. Dooley how long the new gardening book had been in the works; where did the idea for the book come from?

"A few years ago I was having dinner with (artist) Steve Penley," states Dooley. Apparently, the subject for a possible new book was one of the topics of conversation. Mr. Dooley laughs when he recalls that one of the possible ideas was for a combination football and gardening book.

"I decided upon a "journey" approach. Not too many coaches are gardeners."

Dooley continued, commenting on his now frequent appearances giving talks to gardening organizations, "I think that there is a uniqueness in a football coach giving talks. It's kind of like, "What am I doing here?""

I asked Mr. Dooley if he could tell me just how many varieties of plants he has in his garden in Athens (Georgia). He simply laughed and said that, "I'll have to count sometime." His Favorite varieties include Japanese Maples, camellias, hydrangeas (one is named for him), herbaceous plants, and dahlias.

Mr. Dooley is a world traveler, and devotes a considerable amount of attention in his new book to gardens and plant varieties throughout the U.S. and the world. He recommends a book, 1001 Gardens You Ought to See Before you Die. By his own count, he still has some 301 of those gardens to go. One of those gardens that he strongly recommends here in the States is Middleton Place, near Charleston, South Carolina. Another garden, which didn't make the 1001 list in the book (an omission that Dooley attempted to rectify) is actually just a few miles from Middleton Place-Magnolia Gardens.

As to gardens further afield, Mr. Dooley seems to have an affection for South Africa (The Floral Kingdom), where he wrote much of the new book. He is particularly enamored with the Protea family that is found there.

I asked Mr. Dooley what it was about gardening that he particularly likes.

He puts it simply, "It's fun. It's good for the mind. Good for the soul and the spirit and the body, because you're outside."

"It's a place to contemplate."

He is also clearly drawn to the science of horticulture. It wouldn't hurt the reader of the new book to have a small Latin dictionary on hand.

"There is always something new. And I'm never satisfied."

Vince Dooley will be autographing copies of his new book, Vince Dooley's Garden-The Horticultural Journey of a Football Coach, from 5 pm to 7:30 PM on Thursday, May 27th, on the City Hall Plaza at Suwanee Town Center, Suwanee, Georgia. For information, call 770.945.8996 or visit www.downtownsuwanee.com.

RMR. And grow stuff.

Atlanta Author Susan Rebecca White--A Soft Place to Land

Atlanta author Susan Rebecca White's new novel, A Soft Place to Land, arrived in bookstores on April 4. The new book follows last year's debut novel, Bound South, which was nominated this year for a Townsend Prize for Fiction. Ms. White's new novel was featured in a review in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To read that review, click on the link below and go to the lifestyle section.

www.ajc.com/lifestyle-susan-rebecca-white-a-494806.html


Ms. White officially began touring for the book last week, in addition to her duties as a creative writing teacher at Emory University. I would like to thank her for taking the time recently to answer questions about her new book, and her writing in general, so I might share her comments here.

GBAW: First question. Your first book, Bound South, was terrific (and, ahem, was also reviewed early on this blog). Bound South was a finalist for this year's Townsend Award. That's really quite an honor, particularly considering some of the other authors who were among the nominees. Your second novel, A Soft Place to Land, has been selected by Target as a featured title for this spring. So, how does it feel to receive both literary kudos AND a big vote of support for your book as a possible bestseller?

SRW: You know, it feels great. I work really hard on crafting my novels, on trying to get the language, and the psychology, and the details right. So it's extremely gratifying to get recognition for that, to be, for example, shortlisted for the Townsend. But at the same time, I'm very aware of audience when I write. This is not to say that I write books with easy answers and pat solutions (I think some reader wished my endings felt more wrapped up!) But being aware of my audience keeps me conscious that things need to happen--that I need to check my tendency for navel gazing. I mean look, I am asking people to take precious time away from their day to read my book, and I want to offer them a good story. I want to hook them in from the beginning. I want people to finish my books feeling that they have just had a textured and meaningful experience. And the wider the audience the better, so I was beyond thrilled when Target chose A Soft Place to Land for its April book club pick. A wider audience does bring out your insecurities, because more readers means more criticism. But that's part of the package. What I'm finding is that I will drive myself crazy if I worry too much about whether or not people like the book. Of course I want for people to like it, but I don't have any control over that. Once I put the book out into the world, I lose control. What I do have control over is what I put into the book while writing it: the hours at my computer, the wrestling with story, the love for my characters.

And your review of Bound South, by the way, was fantastic.

GBAW: Thank you. I thought that it was a terrific book. I know some of the ladies in it.

Question 2. A Soft Place to Land deals with the complicated relationship between sisters Ruthie and Julia. The question that you will be answering at every reading you give for the new book: How much of the relationship between Ruthie and Julia is drawn from you and your sisters?

SRW: The intimacy, the teasing, the private games ("Biscuit and Egg"), the inside jokes, all of these elements of Ruthie and Julia's relationship were elements of my relationships with my sisters. I drew upon my girlhood memories of playing with them, sneaking into their beds at night, scratching their backs for the priviledge of sleeping in their beds. But once Phil and Naomi die, Julia and Ruthie's story veers far from my own, and the two sisters become their own selves, and not mirrors of my sisters and me.

GBAW: Speaking of sisters, one of your sisters is Lauren Myracle, a bestselling author of young adult books. Your husband, Alan Deutschman, is the author of several successful business titles, and has written for Vanity Fair, Fortune, Fast Co., and GQ (how cool is that?). My question, then, is what is it like being in an entire family of successful working writers? Do you consult each other on projects? Review each other's rough drafts? Is there a family betting pool as to who is going to get on Oprah first? Seriously, that's a lot of creative energy in one family.

SRW: Lauren paved the way for me. I was so impressed when she got her first book deal; I didn't believe that "real" people really published books. But then she kept publishing, and publishing, and publishing, and it began to feel normal. That normalization of publication was really helpful, because it made it seem like something I might actually be able to do. Because Lauren and I share so many memories, and both write fiction, we don't read each other's drafts, rough or polished, but wait until our respective work is in print. In fact, lauren also wrote a story about two sisters (Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks) that was published in March of 2009, and I didn't read it until December of 2009, once A Soft Place to Land had gone through all its edits, because I didn't want to be unduly influenced. And she didn't read A Soft Place until it was out in galleys.

With my husband Alan, it's a different story. He writes non-fiction, and our books are so different from one another that there is no fear of overlapping. I talk through my stories with him, and he offers really helpful suggestions. It was Alan who suggested that I open the book by having Julia and Ruthie tell each other the story of their parent's plane crash, so that readers could 1) get a sense of their relationship by how they talked to each other, 2) get a sense of the "mythic" romance that their parents had and 3) "see" the crash without actually being on the plane. Alan is invaluable help to me during the process of writing.

GBAW: Next. Food. A Soft Place to Land gives a great deal of attention to food. Do you cook? What's a Susan Rebecca White specialty? I understand that you are also a gardener. What are you growing this year? Finally, feel free to mention any favorite restaurants or local food-oriented establishments (in Atlanta or San Francisco).

SRW: I love to cook. In the book, Ruthie becomes a pastry chef, which I thought fit her controlled, exacting nature, but I am more interested in cooking savory things. I make a mean roast chicken--probably because I buy nice little chickens at the farmer's market, or from Sawicki's--and I take the time to brine it and then slather butter and herbs all over it and roast it in a hot oven. I also like to braise things. In the winter I make a yummy braised duck (legs) with prunes and red wine. I serve that over mashed potatoes. I also like to make lasagna Bolognese, though that is quite a production because I often make the noodles by hand and the ragu sauce takes about 5 hours to prepare and then you have to make a bechamel to layer in there. It's one of those dishes that I make about once a year, it's so much trouble, but I'm always glad to have made it when I finally get to eat a slice. As far as my garden goes (grows), I have moved from vegetables to flowers. I just felt like I was growing a salad bar for the squirrels, and got fed up. I have a couple of tomatoes in pots, but the garden is mostly non-edible: we've got hydrangeas, peonies, butterfly bushes, blueberry bushes, some petunias, some zinnias, and some sunflowers.

Fave restaurants in Atlanta/Decatur: Cakes & Ale, Tacqueria del Sol, Floataway Cafe, the burger at Holeman & Finch, spaetzle at Cafe Alsace. I've also become quite addicted to the grapefruit/mint popsicle sold by The King of Pops who parks his popsicle stand at the corner of North Avenue and North Highland.

I have no authority to speak of restaurants in New York, because I'm inherently out of the loop--given that I don't live there--but, I'm going to anyway because I can't help myself. There's a teeny-tiny Greek restaurant in Soho that I love, called Snack. Like everyone, I find pork buns at Momofuku scary good. And for a celebratory meal, I don't think you can beat The Union Square Cafe: the food is fresh and good (the homemade pastas are a stand-out) and the people who work there take such wonderful care of you. I think that's really important, that a restaurant give you a sense of well-being. Cakes & Ale (in Atlanta), which I already mentioned, does such a good job with that.

In San Francisco, I always have to go to Zuni for the roast chicken, and the salted caramel ice cream at Bi-Rite Creamery makes me swoon. And I love the burritos at Tacqueria Cancun. For a moderately prices yummy Middle Eastern meal with fantastic service, you can't beat La Mediterranee on Noe Street.

GBAW: Next question. Atlanta. Much of your story in the new novel is set around the Peachtree Battle area of Atlanta (sorry folks, if you don't know where I am talking about). Specifically, you mention the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center. I have to ask. Do you remember Oxford Bookstore (the original that used to be in the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center)? Do you have any favorite Oxford Bookstore stories?

SRW: I loved Oxford Books! And its companion store, Oxford, Too. I grew up about a half mile from Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, and my mom would take me to Oxford at least once a week. We would each buy a book and then go get a snack at the Cup & Chaucer cafe that was on the second floor of the store. I loved their hot chocolate. It was just chocolate milk that they steamed with a little wand, but it was creamy and rich and delicious. I would order a hot chocolate and croissant and read whatever book I'd bought. Maybe that was the start of my associating books with food.

When I was in the fifth grade, all of the boys loved Stephen King books. I went to Oxford, Too, which sold used books, and bought eight Stephen King thrillers for maybe 50 cents each and brought them to class the next day to donate to our class library. I pretended the books were all mine, that they had just been lying around my house, so that the boys would think I was cool.

GBAW: And--really--two last questions (both devoted to George Plimpton): You recently stated that you had read Nelson Aldrich, Jr.'s book, George, Being George, a collection of stories about the late George Plimpton, by many of the people who knew him best. You also suggested that you had only recently discovered Mr. Plimpton, and that you were very excited about having done so. As a fellow admirer of George Plimpton, I am curious to know what was it about him that so intrigues you. Were you aware that soon-to-be Georgia State University football coach Bill Curry was a good friend of Mr. Plimpton's? They actually co-wrote a book, One More July. Mr. Curry's 2008 book, Ten Men You Meet in the Huddle, dedicates a chapter to Mr. Plimpton.

SRW: I didn't know that about Bill Curry and George--how cool. As for me, I just love George Plimpton's joie de vivre. He was worldly and sophisticated but he took a child-like joy in life, and he did so many things, from helping found The Paris Review to boxing with Archie Moore...I suppose he inspires me because he was proof that adult life does not have to be staid and safe and dull.

GBAW: After you posted your comments about having discovered George Plimpton, I sent you a bit about Plimpton that I had previously posted here on my blog. Since you teach creative writing at Emory University, I want to ask you what you thought of the piece that I sent over to you. It was pretty good, wasn't it? Witty? Original? Please feel free to critique it as honestly as you would for one of your students. Just keep in mind that I will be sharing your comments about my work with my two young children.

SRW: Your piece gets an A!

GBAW: Speaking of your students at Emory, are there any up-and-coming writers among them whom we should be on the lookout for?

SRW:

Well, my students are all smarter than I am, so if I can do it, they should be able to, too.

Thanks again to Ms. White for taking the time to share her thoughts, comments and recommendations on her books, on the writing craft, and FOOD.

Susan Rebecca White will be appearing at Outwrite Books in Atlanta, on May 19, at 7:30 PM. Call 404.607.0082 for more information.

RMR. Books about girls.

Townsend Prize for Fiction & Georgia Rules the Book World

Congratulations to Atlanta author Kathryn Stockett, whose book, The Help was recently awarded the 2010 Townsend Prize for Fiction. The Award is presented every two years to a Georgia author, and is named for Atlanta Magazine founding editor, the late Jim Townsend. This year's award was sponsored by the Writer's Institute at Georgia Perimeter College, The Atlanta Writer's Club, the Margaret Mitchell House, and the Georgia Center for the Book (see the links on this blog).

It is worth mentioning, too, that Ms. Stockett's book is, at this posting, Number 2 on the current New York Times bestseller list. She and her new book are also featured in the April/May edition of Garden & Gun Magazine. The article is written by Monte Burke, author of the book Sowbelly-The Obsessive Quest for the World-Record Largemouth Bass, which is reason enough to read the article.

Other nominees for this year's Townsend Prize included Phillip Lee Williams, for The Campfire Boys, Joshilyn Jackson, for The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, and Susan Rebecca White, for Bound South. Ms. White's new book, A Soft Place to Land, was blurrbed by Ms. Stockett. For a complete list of the nominees, visit the Georgia Center for the Book's website. You'll be asking, "ALL of these people are from Georgia?"

The 2010 Townsend Prize was awarded last week at a ceremony held at the Margaret Mithcell House in Atlanta.

And look what's coming (or just came out) from Georgia authors, and authors with Georgia connections:

George Washington Perry by Augusta newspaperman Bill Baab (just out in February)

Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA by Maryn McKenna (just out last month). She'll be at the Georgia Center for the Book tonight.

A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White (just out)

The Turning--What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis (May 1)

Zero, Zilch, Nada by (illust.) Laura Knorr (May 1)

The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking by Joseph E. Dabney (May 1)

In Dooley's Garden by Vince Dooley (coming soon)

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson (June 8)

The Flower Seeker by Phillip Lee Williams (September 1)

Ellen Craft's Escape from Slavery by (illust.) Mark Braught (September 28)

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin (May 11)

The Council of Dads by Bruce Feiler (today)

Photos: Phillip Lee Williams, Susan Rebecca White & Joshilyn Jackson, The Margaret Mitchell House (The "Dump").

More to come!

RMR

Congratulations 2010 Georgia Writers Hall of Fame Inductees

Congratulations to Judith Ortiz Cofer and Philip Lee Williams, who were both inducted this week into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, located on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens. This honor could not have been bestowed upon two more deserving authors (or terrific people).

Because their collective work is simply too much to even summarize in such a short space, I invite readers to look up their titles on-line, at their local bookstore, or library. And not just Georgia readers, either.

Judith Ortiz Cofer is about as colorful a person as you might want to read, providing a perfect Puerto Rican/New York City/Southern/Latina/literary/motherly perspective on life. She is a delight to hear in person.

Phil Williams personafies the right Southern male. He is Atticus Finch in the flesh--proving (like Pat Conroy, Terry Kay and Jim Kilgo) that a good book, poem, or musical score is as much a manly art as fighting, sport, and the outdoors. In fact, they compliment each other. I will always remember the way this Georgia author presented a reading to a crowd of folks who were obviously in need of a litttle comfort. They had come out to hear him read from an historical comedy he'd written. And he managed to make them laugh, on September 13, 2001.

Congratulations also to Phil Williams, who will retire (semi-) this week from the University of Georgia, after a long and destiguished career with that institution.

Congratulations to both Phil and Judith on their having been recognized by the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

There's so much coming this year, bookwise, here in Georgia.

Phil Williams' new book, The Flower Seeker, arrives in the fall. The Georgia Literary Festival will be in Statesboro (GO EAGLES!!!!) this year, thank you very much, Georgia Center for the Book.

New books are coming from Susan Rebecca White, Joshilyn Jackson, Joe Dabney, ....and so many more.

Collegiate athletics legend Vince Dooley has a new gardening book coming this spring. Dooley is a certified Master Gardener, and has had a lifelong love affair with his garden. I'll bet not even Bear Bryant cultivated his own unique hydrenga.

There is a new Book Festival coming to Suwanee, Georgia which is promising to be quite an affair.

The Decatur Book Festival will be back again this year, the largest independent book festival in the entire USA.

Some good news.

RMR

A Christmas Story from Atlanta's August House Publishers--The Red Scarf by Richard Mason

Norphlet, Arkansas

December, 1944

"Christmas is gonna be here soon, and the way things are a-looking around here, it ain't gonna be much. Momma told me not to expect a lot, and for her to tell me that when it's right after Thanksgiving means I ain't gonna get nothing. Yeah, I do get a little sad when I think about a Christmas without presents, but you know; I don't care that much about Christmas presents. Ahaaa, wait a minute, I'm lying like a dog. Yeah, I do want Christmas presents, but since I ain't gonna get none, I just act like every thing's okay. But hey, you know what? I've got some good friends, and I like living out here on the farm where I can go in the woods and swamp and roam around. Anyhow, I can't think of a dang think I really want. Oh, heck, I'm lying again. There's a whole bunch of stuff I want, but I ain't gonna get nothing. So shoot, if I don't get a dang Christmas present it won't matter a whit to me. Liar!"

From 'The Red Scarf' by Richard Mason

A book friend at our local public school system gave me a copy of this book several weeks ago. As today is Christmas Eve, it seemed like a proper thing to post about.

Author, oilman, and former president of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Richard Mason, grew up in rural southern Arkansas. His 2007 debut novel, 'The Red Scarf', recounts Christmas 1944 through the eyes of an eleven-year-old farm boy named, um, Richard.

Young Richard's adventures revolve around his quest to earn money with which to purchase Christmas presents. Specifically, he wants to earn enough money to buy a red scarf for Rosalie, the prettiest girl at school. Richard's various money-making schemes and penchant for trouble lead him to square-off with school bullies, criminals, a skunk, and a wildcat. Oh, weren't those the days?

'The Red Scarf' is reminiscent of the writings of Georgia author Ferrol Sams. The book has some genuinely funny moments, and a nice--Christmassy--twist at the end. Some readers might find the author's folksy, country boy dialogue to be a little contrived. However, if the reader grew up hearing and speaking that same dialogue, it is easy to recognize it a genuine. It might have you "shaking like a leaf". Laughing.

Richard Mason is the CEO of Gibralter Energy. His forthcoming book, 'Love and War in Afghanistan' is due out in the Spring of 2010.

Recommended:

The works of Terry Kay, Philip Lee Williams, and Dr. Ferrol Sams.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

RMR

In Honor of Halloween, A Local Monster Story

The following piece was researched and written last summer for a local magazine (Gwinnett County, Georgia). I post it here in honor of the season. Sorry, no photos to post as yet. Those are currently trapped in storage in a malfuntioning remotedrive. I'll work on it.

The Wog (a true story)

Perhaps you are one of the many Gwinnettians who will be making the drive over to Athens this fall to attend UGA football games. Perhaps you are planning a late summer or early fall camping trip over at Fort Yargo State Park.

Perhaps, as you make the drive along Highways 78 or 316 one evening, you catch a glimpse of flashing red eyes from the side of the road. Perhaps, as you lay in your tent sleeping, you are awakened by a noise in the middle of the night. What of the flashing eyes by the side of the road? A deer, most likely. And what about the commotion in your campsite in the middle of the night? Probably a raccoon rummaging for food.

Probably. Maybe not.

Just three miles east of the City of Winder lies one of Georgia’s more unusual geographic oddities. Geologists refer to it as a peat bog, though there has been some discussion over the decades as to whether or not it might actually be a long-dead volcano.

Historical records indicate that the early white settlers to the area knew the place well. Numerous accounts are to be found which describe an area of some four to five acres of black muck that bubbled and boiled, and presented a hazard to man and beast alike.

The Creek Indians who inhabited this area referred to the spot as Nodoroc or, more precisely, Hell. The Creek believed Nodoroc a place inhabited by the Devil. Prisoners of war and criminals were sacrificed by tossing them into the muck. Occasionally, when no one else was available—and Nodoroc was particularly active spewing smoke—an innocent villager might be offered up as a sacrifice.

The Creek were concerned about appeasing the resident of Nodoroc. This fearsome creature, that the Creek believed to be the Devil, was called The Wog.

The Wog would go about at night, terrifying the local inhabitants, and devouring the bodies of their dead. When sacrifices were tossed into the bog, it was the Wog that would pull them under. Some of the victim’s ghosts are said to be heard screaming in the woods at night even to this day.

As white settlers moved into the area the story of Nodoroc and the Wog persisted, though in a somewhat less sinister form. Local histories recount settlers’ tales of the creature lurking about the countryside at night, sometimes frightening livestock to death.

Not unusual where myths and monsters are concerned, there was much agreement between the Native Americans and the white settlers as to what the Wog looked like. It was said to be the size of a small horse. It was covered in jet-black hair, and had a head that resembled a bear. Its legs were about the length of a deer’s, with the back legs slightly shorter than the front legs. It had huge, nasty teeth—so large that its ugly lips could not close over them. Not surprisingly, it had a long, forked tongue that darted in and out of its mouth, and red eyes.

Perhaps the Wog’s most distinguishing feature was its tail. It was said that its tail was long and had a wiry tuft of hair at the end. The creature continually swished its tail, creating a buzzing sound that could be heard at some distance. Settlers claimed to have heard the sound at night, and would occasionally see the forked tongue flicking in and out through the cracks in their cabin walls.

The Creek sold off the land of Nodoroc to white settlers (likely thinking that they were getting quite a deal). Over the decades, the bog was drained for agriculture. Still, it remained a hazard to livestock, though there are no records of the Wog having molested farm animals for some time.

On a recent visit to Nodoroc, my tour guides were Jimmy Hardegree, age 78 and a lifetime resident of the area, and his nephew, Andrew. Both are relatives of the man whose family has owned the property on which Nodoroc is located for generations.

Mr. Hardegree is a wealth of knowledge regarding local history. He even has his own “museum”, a recreated general store, behind his house and just down the road from Nodoroc.

A trail through the woods leads down to the bog. Our young guide, Andrew, points out a sign announcing Nodoroc. He says that the sign is a remnant of an Eagle Scout project conducted by his older brother years ago, when local schools would bring students over to see the site.

Today, Nodoroc is covered over by a growth of ferns. Still, there is no mistaking the dark, black muck. Even after two years of drought, the ground is spongy to walk upon. Andrew tells us that, when things (meaning “No drought”) are normal, it’s difficult to find a place on which to stand and not sink.

To illustrate, Andrew takes a large stick, maybe four feet in length, and easily pushes it down into the ground up to his palm. When he removes it just as easily, it is covered with a wet, black ooze, and makes a sucking sound as the stick is pulled out of the ground.

Mr. Hardegree talks about the area, how it was once covered in corn and how he farmed it himself years ago. He talks of mules and tractors having to be used to get cows unstuck from the bog. He speaks of other artifacts that have been found around the place and how, to his knowledge, no serious excavation has ever been conducted in the place once known as Nodoroc. Maybe people are too spooked?

Andrew laughs and tells about times when he has been down at Nodoroc and allowed his imagination to get the best of him. And how he was at a full run by the time that he got back to the house.

Neither Mr. Hardegree or Andrew have seen the Wog, though Andrew tells us that his brother and a friend did once see “something” off in the distance—something that was about the size of a deer, and was jet black.

That commotion in your campsite in the middle of the night—it’s just a raccoon going through your cooler.

But what’s that buzzing sound?

I'm thinking about going back to Nodoroc for a visit. I would like to see what the recent rains have done to revitalize the bog, and it seems like a Halloween thing to do.

RMR. And get spooked.