No two ways about it—I’m an animal person. I pretty much enjoy everything from birds to possums to horses. Reading is another love.  It’s a happy intersection when I find a book with a critter as a character.

That brings me to the Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and ‘Red Fern Festival’ April 2015. The fest based on Woodrow Wilson Rawls coming of age tale, “Where the Red Fern Grows,” is in its tenth year.

For the weekend, I piled on with the Tahlequah Writers and sold books, photos, and notecards at TW booth. Had a great time networking with fellow writers, members of the Cherokee community, and oral storytelling traditions. We talked writing, reading, and publishing for two days with festival-goers. Special thanks to Karen Cooper for arranging the booth space.

All said and done, the coonhound field trials sent chills over me. Redbones, blue ticks, Walkers, black-and-tans, and even a bloodhound strutted their athletic ability and deep, bass voices.  Check out my short story ‘Last Love’ in the collection, Washed in the Water: Tales from the South.

When Spring 2017 rolls around, look for me along the creek with the hounds and their primal hunting music.