The Old North State--North Carolina with Catherine Yee

            Whether you travel to the Outer Banks or through the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and anywhere in between you will find great beauty in North Carolina.  This state’s citizens take pride in their surroundings.  The yards are mowed.  Gardens are everywhere, even if it is only a small patch where wildflowers are protected.  Even the ancient barns and buildings that may be falling down look charming with a hint of times gone by.  But the real beauty of this state is its natural resources, the Smoky Mountains, Brevard County with its waterfalls, the northern mountains with great mineral and gem wealth.  Heading east toward the coast you cross the foothills and the Piedmont with orchards, vineyards, farms and ranches.  All along the way you find small towns with their own charming identities.   And then you reach the Carolina coastline!  From the Outer Banks all the way down to South Carolina you have beautiful beaches, beach towns, lighthouses and an abundance of pirate lore. 

            We mustn’t forget another resource -- the great food this state produces.  We have barbecue from one end of the state to the other.  These folks know how to cook, and what they do with a hog is legendary.  We decided to retire to Lexington, NC, which considers itself the barbeque capital of North Carolina.  Pass by any barbecue place and the smell of hickory fills the air.  Now, if you’re looking for Texas style sauce, forget it.  The people of North Carolina have their own styles of sauce and their own coleslaw.  Another favorite of mine is the she crab soup.  It’s a delicious cross between bisque and chowder and filled with blue crab meat.

For things to do and see, there is Spencer, NC, just a few miles to the south of Lexington which is a train town and houses the North Carolina Transportation museum.  Read the history of the little town here http://www.ourstate.com/train-town.    We have one of the world’s premier zoos in Asheboro, http://www.nczoo.org/ and some of the state’s finest potteries south of Asheboro in Seagrove, http://www.discoverseagrove.com/.  If you like golf, this state has plenty of that for example Pinehurst, NC http://www.pinehurst.com/north-carolina-hotels.php.  It was the first organized golf coast in the United States and was established in 1898.  Pinehurst has a rich golfing history.  For the music lover, the state boasts Brevard and its summer music festivals which host some of the finest musicians but the core music of the mountains is blue grass and folk music brought by the ancestors from Ireland and Scotland.  Good music is found all across this state.

The greatest resource in this state is most definitely its people.  Southern hospitality abounds here.  Even in the grimmest of economic times the people find a way to smile.  People look out for one another.

            Is Lexington a good place to write?  Most definitely!  I conceived the idea for my book, Battered Wings, here and am now working on a spy novel. 

          BATTERED WINGS by Catherine Yee

A single act of violence causes a once loving marriage forged in the furnace of WWII to be almost torn apart in the fiery hell of the Vietnam era. Three-star General Leland Thornton, retired, suffers a severe personality change from an old war wound that causes him to assault his wife of 25 years, sending her to the hospital and landing him in jail. Now they both must work to rebuild the love they once shared and face ghosts from their past. Along the way one of their grown children fights to survive the war-torn skies of ‘Nam.

As a Veteran, Catherine has the experience to write a story based on true feelings.  She also loves living in North Carolina.  Out her back door, she’s got her own fishing hole situated on Swearing Creek which is located off High Rock Lake. Please stop by her website to learn more.http://whiskeycreekpress.com/authors/Catherine_Yee.shtml