Sharyn McCrumb: The Devil Amongst the Lawyers

New York Times best-selling author Sharyn McCrumb has written a fascinating novel based on a real trial that took place in Virginia in 1935 when a young teacher was accused of murdering her father. With The Devil Amongst the Lawyers, Sharyn returns to her highly acclaimed “Appalachian Ballad” series after an eight-year hiatus.

In 1935, all the national publications sent their star reporters to a remote Virginia town to cover the trial of Erma Morton, a beautiful 27-year-old mountain girl with a teaching degree who’d been accused of murdering her drunken tyrant of a father. The editors knew that nothing sells newspapers better than a “wronged woman” on trial or descriptions of “backwards” mountain folk. Each of the reporters filtered the unfolding story through their own prejudices.

Featuring the author’s classic knack for weaving intriguing stories, the hill towns her readers have come to love and the return of Nora Bonesteel, her most beloved character, The Devil Amongst the Lawyers is sure to be a favorite.

Publishers Weekly says, “McCrumb’s grasp of setting and character instantly immerses readers in the worlds of both the sympathetic locals and the cynical city press.”

The Devil Amongst the Lawyers, by Sharyn McCrumb, $24.95, hardcover, fiction, is published by St. Martin’s Press. The book is available through national bookstores and online booksellers.

Stacey Curnow: Ravenna

Author Stacey Curnow was preparing for motherhood when she came across the story of Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady in a parenting book she was reading. “I was a little dismayed,” says Stacey, “that it seemed to hang so much on physical beauty and romantic love.” She took this tale, whose origins lie deep in Celtic lore, and adapted it for today’s young people.

“The message (in the original story) is no longer limited to the ages old—and let’s face it, rather silly—question ‘what do women want?’” adds Stacey. She has broadened this legend to include all living creatures. The wizened old lady in this book, for example, is a bear named Ravenna. The question in Ravenna, became, “What do all living beings want?” In this new telling of the story, the legend takes place in the mountains of Appalachia.

“I wanted to tell a story that focused on friendship and freedom,” says the author. “I shared the dream with my husband, and my dear friend and extraordinary artist Daniel Nevins ...” Daniel created the bold brush and ink artwork that lend enough detail to carry the story but still allow an active role to be played by the reader’s imagination.

The earthbound and mystical themes of this story are beautifully intertwined as the tale unfolds of a boy who learns the interconnectedness of all things from a talking black bear. The book speaks softly but unmistakably to the tender heart within each of us.

Ravenna, written by Stacey Curnow and illustrated by Daniel Nevins, $12.95, softcover, is published by Grateful Steps Publishing. The book is available at area bookstores and from the publisher (gratefulsteps.com). The book will be released at an event at 3 p.m. on September 25 at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville.