Discover the World of Keowee Valley

Katherine Scott Crawford is the award-winning author of Keowee Valley, an historical adventure set in the Revolutionary-era Carolinas and the Cherokee country. A recovering academic and former adjunct professor, she serves as a guest lecturer and workshop leader at conferences, writers retreats, literary festivals, libraries, and more. As a newspaper columnist, her popular column appeared weekly across the country and abroad, in U.S.A. Today, The Detroit Free Press, and many others. She holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Founder and Director of MountainTop Writers Retreats, she lives in Western North Carolina with her husband, daughters, and their trail dog. Her second historical novel, THE MINIATURIST’S ASSISTANT, is forthcoming from Regal House Publishing in Spring 2025.

“A glorious debut from a gifted author.”
-Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of Big Stone Gap and The Shoemaker’s Wife

Keowee Valley is a terrific first novel by Katherine Scott Crawford–a name that should be remembered.”
-Pat Conroy, bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad

“Katherine Scott Crawford is a fresh and valuable new voice in Southern Literature.” -Ron Rash, bestselling author of Serena and Saints at the River

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Enjoy the Keowee Valley Trailer

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Kristin Hannah’s The Women + Historical Fiction Book Club tonight

Hi, folks! Don’t forget that tonight, March 13, 2024, is Historical Fiction Book Club at Highland Books in Brevard, NC! We’re chatting about the utterly riveting, Maine-set novel by Ariel Lawhon: The Frozen River. (Psst: It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.) While I have a work commitment, bookseller extraordinaire Leslie Logemann will lead the discussion.

On to The Women:

Got my lucky hands on an ARC (Advance Review Copy) of Kristin Hannah‘s The Women. It’s stirring, heavy, rich with intense and visceral detail, and does a masterful job of layering history into its most personal scenes. Every time I looked up, I would almost have to shake my head to clear it. It felt like I was in Vietnam, that I needed to duck for cover.

I feel so much more informed about the war in Vietnam now, and about the remarkable women veterans who served there. Hannah’s dedication page is particularly moving.

The Women is our April read at Highland Book’s Historical Fiction Book Club! Pick up your copy—book clubbers get 20% off!—and join us Wednesday, APRIL 10th at 6 pm for a chat about The Women.

***

From the publisher, @stmartinspress :

“‘Women can be heroes, too.’

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances ‘Frankie’ McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism encourage under fire define a generation.”

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My teen’s book review of Fault Lines by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Book review from my 14 year-old, an avid reader:

“I loved Fault Lines!” she says. “It had a really good, structured storyline. I loved that the characters stayed true to their ideas throughout the novel. It had romance, but it didn’t take the really important goal and toss it aside just so two characters could kiss. It had a great setting for people who like romance set in the modern world. It incorporates a lot of modern troubles. West Virginia really came to life: it felt like I was actually in the book.”

I read Fault Lines, and loved it, too–but as a teen, my daughter’s assessment matters most when it comes to Young Adult or teen fiction.

More about the book from the publisher, Hachette:

“Riveting, powerful, and a little big magical, Fault Lines offers readers a slow-burning romance alongside an unflinching examination of socio-economics, gender expectations, and environmental ethics.

Ever since her aunt died four months ago, Vivian (Viv) Spry is aching to figure out where she belongs. Her father has become emotionally distant and even her best friend has found a new sense of identity in her theater group. Unfortunately, no one in her rural West Virginia town has time for an assertive, angry girl, especially a girl dubbed ‘Ice Queen’ for refusing to sleep with her popular boyfriend. On top of everything, she discovers a strange ability to sense energy that really freaks her out. The only place Viv feels it’s safe to be her true self is the tree stand where her aunt taught her to hunt. It’s the one place she still feels connected to the person who knew her best. So when fracking destroys the stand and almost kills her, she vows to find a way to take the gas company down.

When Dex Mathews comes to town–a new kid whose mom lands a job laying pipeline–his and Viv’s worlds collide and a friendship (and maybe more?) slowly blossoms. But Viv’s plan to sabotage the pipeline company could result in Dex’s mom losing her job, putting them on the streets. No Viv and Dex have to decide what’s worth fighting for–their families, their principles, or each other.”

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Registration still open for Writers Retreat, March 15 – 17, 2024

The countdown is on for our upcoming Writers Retreat at gorgeous Earthshine Lodge in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina, March 15 – 17, 2024. Registration is still open!

Note: We’re offering optional one-on-one sessions with me instead of “breakouts” or group workshops. We can talk books, inspiration, brainstorm ideas, discuss the publishing industry, your work, the writing life, and more—either porch or fireside, or on a hike around the property.

Every interaction is optional. This is YOUR time.

Also, Chef Coe makes every meal delicious!

For more information, click here.

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Book Rave: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Oh, my. This book.

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

I loved it. Read like the pages were on fire. Was sunk so deep in frozen 1789 Maine, in Martha Ballard’s fierce, sharp, astounding mind, I didn’t want to leave.

I’ve never read a work of historical fiction like this. At first, I considered craft: Was it the first person, present-tense point of view? The rapid-fire dialogue, the seamless segue between interiority, action, and description?

No. It was Martha. She is a fully-realized, bracingly authentic, epic character. Her story, her people, her world, are rich and vibrant–beautiful and awful. True.

The Frozen River is wonderful. I didn’t want to give it up. More Martha, please, Ms. Lawhon. (More Ephraim, too.)

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2024 Spring Writing Retreat at Earthshine Lodge

I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be hosting the 2024 Spring Writing Retreat at gorgeous Earthshine Lodge in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina!

3 Days/ 2 Nights ~ March 15 – 17, 2024

For more details, and to register, click here.

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Happy New Year!

Hey, all,

It’s 2024! Yes, I’m about to say something so passé as, “Can y’all believe it’s 2024?!”

Okay, all done. I sure hope your holidays were exactly what you needed them to be. And if they were not, I hope you’re going gentle into January, especially with yourself. I truly believe it’s the best, the only, way forward.

Quick update:

The newest issue of my author newsletter, I Take Heart, is out. Several readers have emailed to tell me it’s their favorite yet. No promises. It’s full of the usual stuff: ponderings on life, books, the arts, the new year, and more. If you’ve not subscribed, you can go here. Or, you can message me directly with your email address, and I’ll add you. (Some folks have found that method to be easiest.) I post once per month.

I’m excited to report that I’ll be leading an in-person, Historical Fiction book club at Highland Books in Brevard, North Carolina. Beginning on February 14, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., we’ll meet the second Wednesday of each month. Same time, same place. Register and buy your books at a 20% discount from Highland Books: our first pick is Mitch Albom’s The Little Liar. For more info about upcoming books, click here.

Don’t forget to follow Highland Books (and me!) on Instagram, so you can stay up to date with news, details, and more.

I’m also excited to report two writing residencies I’ll be attending in 2024: South Porch Arts in Summerville, South Carolina, and the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in Southern Pines, North Carolina. ANY writer will tell you that a residency–the space, time, and quiet in which to devote to your craft–is invaluable. (Especially writers who are also parents.) Full stop.

Here’s to a winter 2024 full of bracing winter walks, lots of good books, and hopefully some snow!

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I Take Heart – November Edition

Happy Friday, all!

The November edition of my author newsletter, I Take Heart, is here — and full of my book, TV, and podcast recommendations, plus some ponderings on November.

To sign up, click the Newsletter tab above, or respond via PM or email at thewritingscott at gmail dot com, and I’ll add you manually. Easy peasy.

The newsletter will pop up in your email Inbox only once per month, and you’ll be the first to hear about new book news, events, and more.

I sure appreciate you all!

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“I Take Heart”: the October Edition

All hail Fall!

The October Edition of my author newsletter, “I Take Heart,” is out now. It’s full of book recommendations (from both me and my kids), upcoming events and news, and Autumn activities I’m enjoying AND looking forward to–plus some pondering on book banning, this special and all-too-brief season, and more.

I sure hope y’all enjoy it. You can subscribe here, or by clicking on the Newsletter tab above.

I only publish once per month, and I’ll never sell your email address to anyone.

Happy Fall, y’all!

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Happy Birthday, Keowee Valley!

Eleven years ago today, my first historical novel, Keowee Valley, was published. It’s been a wild ride since, to say the least, and I want to celebrate the book which made me an author.

Looking back over long ago posts, along with the photos from my book launch, and even going over all the dates on my extremely packed (and years’ long!) book tour, one feeling rises to top all else:

I am grateful.

Grateful to the family and friends who supported me the years I was writing, who threw parties for me and asked me questions, who introduced my book to others, who watched my (at that time, one) child so I could visit book stores for signings, attend events and deliver lectures and programs all over the Carolinas and Georgia. Grateful to the many, many readers who came to love Quincy, Jack, Ridge Runner, Fire Eater, and all the rest–who took my story, characters, and the wild Carolina backcountry into their imaginations and into their hearts.

Grateful to Bell Bridge Books, who published me first; to my late agent, Henry Morrison, and to so many more folks behind the scenes who helped Keowee Valley land on book shelves and in e-readers everywhere. Grateful beyond words to the librarians and booksellers who read the novel, put it on their shelves, and shared it with their customers.

Grateful to the generous authors, who did not have to take the time to read and endorse the first novel of a nobody, but who did: Pat Conroy, Adriana Trigiani, Tommy Hays, Ron Rash, Darci Hannah, Philip Lee Williams, Beverly Swerling, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Elise Blackwell, and more. And to the reviewers, interviewers, and book bloggers who took the time, effort, and talents to write about my book and about me.

Keowee Valley was a novel I’d been dreaming about since I was a young girl running more than a bit wild in the woods of the South Carolina Upcountry. I finished the novel practically as a newlywed, before I was a mother. When the book was published, I had a 3 year-old daughter, and was pregnant with another daughter. I was a college professor, and I was a graduate student earning my MFA in Writing.

The novel was a Quarter-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest; I earned a North Carolina Arts Council Arts Award with it, and several artist and writer’s fellowships and residencies. My life was absolutely changed by this book–some of the best parts of it being the writer friends I made along the way.

In the 11 years since the novel was published, the world, and my own life, has seen massive change. In fact, I couldn’t list all the changes if I wanted to. But one thing is clear: Stories are the way I walk through the world. Thank you all, so very much, for letting me tell them.

I can’t wait for y’all to read my new historical novel, THE MINIATURIST’S ASSISTANT, coming in May 2025 from Regal House Publishing. I know that’s a long time to wait, so in the meantime, please follow me on Instagram at @thewritingscott, where I hang out most online, subscribe to my author newsletter, and know this:

Keowee Valley is on sale (ebook version) until Sept. 30, 2023 for only $0.99 on Amazon and Apple Books. If you like it, I also wrote a Christmas-themed Keowee Valley short story called “Evergreen and Expectations” (only $0.99 on Amazon; free on Amazon Kindle).

P.S. Here are some photos from my 2012 book launch and subsequent tour. I was very pregnant, and my now teenager was only 3 years old.

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Poetry recommendation: The Best Material for the Artist in the World

“Everything draws toward the white wick of dreams:

a wagon train pushing into the flare

of afternoon; the slow, salty river flanking

redrock cliffs that step down

and down into the distance; even a bit of path

opened by a fallen tree arrows into the light”

~ from the poem “Emmigrants Crossing the Plains,” from The Best Material for the Artist in the World by Kenneth Chamlee

Last night I had the joy of meeting up with several friends and former Brevard College colleagues (where I taught for 13 years) to hear Ken Chamlee discuss his new book, a biography in poems of the landscape painter Albert Bierstadt.

I’ve loved Ken’s poetry for years, but have a special awe of and affection for his Bierstadt poems. They tell, in part, the story of the painter’s experience in an American West now lost to us, during a gorgeous and complicated time of expansion and upheaval. Listening to Ken last night just made me want to view Bierstadt’s astonishing work in person, with this book in hand.

It’s available from Stephen J. Austin State University Press, and anywhere books are sold.

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