Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson

I saw Neal @ a book signing @ Malaprop’s - turns out he used to teach some writing courses @ UNCA.  He’s soon to be a west-coaster, but should currently qualify as an AVL resident.

Not that I’m a NASCAR fan, but I am a fan of moonshine - and for all those Appalachian history buffs out there - this book is packed w/ regional stories and photographs!

I took a writing class of Neal’s maybe two years ago. He’s a very thoughtful instructor.

You’re right - a very chill guy who enjoys helping other writers.  He gave me some great tips about organizing my research - although he didn’t give me any moonshine or NASCAR tickets!

For those who are interested, Neal Thompson has some other stuff out there:

Light This Candle: The Life and Times of Alan Shepard which is about Alan Shepard, obviously, and the space program and Hurricane Season, which is a true story about a football team struggling to stay together after Hurricane Katrina.  I remember him talking about the courage and spirit of the team and that it was a truly eye-opening experience.

What Goes Around… by Mick Woodhall is a very entertaining and thought provoking novel about how easy it is to have whole families turned upside down by manipulative teens that lie to DSS about abuse in order to punish their parents. The author obviously did his research in the typical social worker playbook and the suspenseful back story had me hooked.

One of my favorite local authors is Sarah Addison Allen (http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com), author of Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen. I just heard she has a new book, The Girl Who Chased the Moon due to be released by Bantam next May.

I also really like Sebastian Matthews’ memoir, In My Father’s Footsteps.

Novel: Bonnie and Clyde: A Love Story, Bill Brooks

Poetry: Third Temple, Rick Chess

Other: Bird Songs of the Mesozoic, David Hopes

I may be biased since this book is written by my friend and business partner Elizabeth Kirwin but it is titled “Fairies in America”.  It is an entertaining piece of fiction that is funny and well written, probably will appeal to all of those local witchy types out there.  She is also an excellent poet and writes beautiful ballads. You can buy the book through Lulu.com.