Author Archives: Nancy Hartney

Bill McCloud Earns Third Woody Guthrie Award

When  Bill McCloud returned from Vietnam, he began sorting out what to do with his life. His war experience, added to his love of history and affair with words, eventually coalesced into a life path. A three-time winner of the Woody Guthrie Poet Award (2019, 2018, 2017), he is as plain as the red dirtContinue reading “Bill McCloud Earns Third Woody Guthrie Award”

One Step Closer to the Shelves

If You Walk Long Enough is one step closer to being published and placed on bookstore and library shelves. One step closer to being available for personal purchase and gift giving. The gift part is timely with the holidays just around the corner. Adults that lived through the Vietnam War, millennials that never knew the conflict,Continue reading “One Step Closer to the Shelves”

Thoughts on Walking

If You Walk Long Enough (with apologies to Alice, from Wonderland) Where shall I go from here? asks the dog. Why bother? It is perfectly fine here in the sun, says the cat. I don’t think it matters, if you have a mud wallow first, grunts the pig.  Keep walking, pull your share, wheezes theContinue reading “Thoughts on Walking”

Thoughts on Critters

Remember all the animals in my novel If You Walk Long Enough? They played small and large parts in the lives of Reid, Angela, and Ellie. Their animals are based on those that have shared my life.  I love animals and enjoy making them important for my characters. Here are additional thoughts about critters: SomeContinue reading “Thoughts on Critters”

Two Short Story Collections, Novel Forthcoming

The first galley proof for If You Walk Long Enough is being revised. Like the title says, walk or work long enough and you’re sure to get somewhere. This novel, set between the Vietnam rice paddies and South Carolina tobacco fields, is a story of emotional violence, moral fatigue, and loss. As I work, IContinue reading “Two Short Story Collections, Novel Forthcoming”

A Southern Culinary Law and Side-dish: Cole Slaw aka Slaw

There’s no way you can have barbeque, fried catfish, or fried chicken without cole slaw as a side dish. Sometimes it’s simply called slaw. For all I can determine, it’s a culinary law in the South, that slaw is not only served with these main dishes, but is also present at church potluck suppers andContinue reading “A Southern Culinary Law and Side-dish: Cole Slaw aka Slaw”

Tobacco Barns: Silent Testimony

Sometime around 2012, fifty plus years after leaving, I went back home to Madison County, Florida. My high school reunion was scheduled and, although the family was gone, I had an urge to visit friends, touch roots, and see what had become of the old farm. Years back, my family grew brightleaf tobacco under aContinue reading “Tobacco Barns: Silent Testimony”

Vietnam, Traditional Clothing, and Women

            There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam, each with unique and specific clothing styles. For example, ethnic people on the plateau dress in colorful attire while the plainspeople tend to dress simply using natural fibers such as silk, hemp, and cotton. Peasants across the country often wear pajama-like costumes, in the South consisting ofContinue reading “Vietnam, Traditional Clothing, and Women”

People Are Reflected in Their Food

Have you ever called a peanut called a “goober” or eaten gumbo? Used roux in your cooking?  If you answered yes, then you have experienced part of the Gullah language and culinary culture. Two of my characters in the novel, If You Walk Long Enough, began their friendship over food. Ellie and Diana bonded overContinue reading “People Are Reflected in Their Food”