‘Anthology of Appalachian Writers: Barbara Kingsolver Volume XV’ now available

The just released “Anthology of Appalachian Writers: Barbara Kingsolver Volume XV” centers on the work of Barbara Kingsolver, Shepherd University’s 2022 Appalachian Heritage Writerin-Residence. Kingsolver was at Shepherd for the Appalachian Heritage Festival in September 2022 and has continued to work with the editors on the completion of the book.

“The 2023 volume contains a host of world-class authors, including West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman and Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour,” said Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt, director of Shepherd’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. “Award-winning writers, such as Karen Spears

Zacharias, Marie Manilla, Mark DeFoe and playwright/fiction writer D.W. Gregory, as well as Kingsolver herself, appear in the collection.”

Winners of the 2022 West Virginia Fiction Competition are also included — first place Lisa Taka Younis (“Lambs”), second place Patricia Donohoe (“Close Up and Far Away”), both of Shepherdstown, West Virginia; and third place Noche Gauthier (“Hymnals”), Harpers Ferry, West Virginia — and kindergarten to 12th grade winner, Musselman High School student Nadia Madenspacher (“The Cliff”).

The Barbara Kingsolver volume of the “Anthology of Appalachian Writers” contains fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and essays by

Appalachian writers from West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. A series of photographs also accompanies the literature. A reading of the anthology is planned for 5 p.m. July 8 at Four Seasons Books, 116 W. German St., Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The anthology will be featured at a Sept. 26 celebration during the Appalachian Heritage Festival at Shepherd and an exhibit featuring art from the volume will take place in the Scarborough Library in August and September.

For information about the Appalachian Heritage Writer’s Project or the anthology, email sshurbutt@shepherd.edu.

Neither Ben nor Tommy believe in coincidences. But at first glance, it seems to be just that. Until they find that the victims shared a common interest and begin an investigation that leads them to uncover a secret Parker City has been hiding for over 120 years.

Parker City Mysteries was originally slated to be a three-book series from Level Best Books, an independent publisher based in Silver Spring. At the end of last year, the contract was extended between Kiska and Level Best for an additional three books.

Since its publication, “Now & Then,” the first book in the series, has been picked up by Harlequin Worldwide Suspense for a mass market paperback release and HighBridge Audio for an audio book. Both will be available in June. Parker City, which serves as the backdrop for all of Kiska’s mysteries, is a highly fictionalized version of Frederick.

“Parker City is as much of a character in the stories as Ben and Tommy [the lead detectives in the books],” Kiska said. “To make the setting as real as possible, like many writers, I looked around for inspiration and ended up not having to look very far. Frederick has such a rich history from which to draw. From its buildings to its residents, Frederick is not only an incredible place to live and work, it has everything a mystery writer could dream of for inspiration.”

Kiska is a theater producer and mystery writer. When not sitting in his library devising new and clever ways to kill people (for his mysteries), Kiska can usually be found at The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Frederick, where he is one of the owners and producers.

In addition to writing the Parker City Mysteries Series, he is also the mastermind behind Marquee Mysteries, a series of interactive mystery events he has been writing and producing for over 15 years. He and his wife live along Lake Linganore. Learn more at justinkiska.com.

Monuments

(Continued from 11) sparrows, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and the prehistoric-looking horned lizard. Bobcats, javelina, mountain lions and coyotes roam the upper elevations.

Tips: Drive Transmountain Road, which wriggles through the range, and brake for the scenic viewpoints.

Trio

(Continued from 8)

Key into the unfolding collaboration and let go of everything else.”

The music on “Live In Carrboro” unfurls with the ease of a flag dancing in the random breath of a summer wind. The set opens slowly, with Shipp and Perelman sliding up and down the scale, scattering bass and treble accents and drifting in and out of sparse melodic phrases. Cosgrove joins in and the trio wanders into the unknown, changing tempos and intonations, exchanging melodic and atonal phrases, as Perelman takes off into his own world of sound. The music continues its unpredictable fluctuations with a flurry of piano trills, sax passages, drum rolls and unexpected accents on the tom toms and bass drum. A brief melodic sax line, that brings to mind a circus sideshow, is supported by Shipp’s rhythmic bass notes and Cosgrove’s drum rolls.

Things quiet down for a drum solo with tolling floor tom accents that sound like notes from a steel drum. Shipp and Perelman jump back in with a dramatic exchange that has a slight Latin tinge, building up to Perelman’s

On the west side of the monument, Franklin Mountains State Park is one of the country’s largest urban parks, covering about 40 square miles within El Paso’s city limits. In the spring, the Mexican gold poppies transform the foothills into a large-scale Monet painting. “It’s the signature plant,” Cutler said.

Artist Talk

May 20th, 6pm FACArt Center

5E 2nd St

MAKING MEMORIES AS WE WAIT long whistling solo, supported by thumping rhythms from drums and piano. After a long free section, the tempo slows and a melody emerges, with a give and take between sax and piano. A breezy tempo from Shipp brings the trio together for an excursion with a hint of R&B in its delivery. The players lower the volume briefly, before the set ends with an atonal burst from Perelman’s sax, Shipp’s clanging piano and Cosgrove’s accelerating drum beat. It ends with a long sax note, as Shipp’s left-hand produces a throbbing backbeat. It’s a wild ride, full of the ups and downs and unexpected grace notes of life, all compressed into 55 remarkable minutes.

In keeping with the music’s abstract flow, Perelman created the arresting cover art for Live In Carrboro. “I’ve done some painting on the side for 25 years,” he said.

“I’ve had some pieces exhibited and have had interest from galleries and collectors. I also have a condition called synesthesia. When I hear music, I see shapes and colors, so it’s a complimentary thing to the music and keeps me involved in all the arts.”