Wildflowers Press

I’m thrilled to announce my upcoming book launch for Snakeroot and Cohosh. I received my galley a couple weeks ago and I love the look and feel of this finished product.

Some exciting events are being planned to help immerse readers into the world of Eva and Luther, including a digital campaign to promote the book’s curated music playlist featuring artists like Tyler Childers, Charles Wesley Godwin, Patty Loveless and Cole Chaney. Many of these artists I discovered on Apple Music. There’s so much talent and I’m grateful to those who continue to raise the bar. Two years ago I saw Cole Chaney play at Hogs for the Cause, a local fundraiser for kids with brain cancer. It’s a giant barbecue where barbecue aficionados spend a weekend cooking up mouth-watering bites accompanied by great music.

At the time Cole was a 23 year old musician/songwriter from east Kentucky who only drew a couple other folks to his tent. I was astonished he wasn’t more recognized or popular as I was hooked when I first heard his soulful ballad Back to Kentucky. After the show I told him how much I loved his music and that I’d spent time in his neck of the woods. Months later I sent him a copy of the short story version of Snakeroot and Cohosh to tell him how much his storytelling and songwriting had impacted my writing. I never heard back from him, but if you get a chance to cue him up, do it. His newest album, In the Shadow of the Mountain is soulful and unforgettable. At that same barbecue festival one year earlier, I heard Charles Wesley Godwin play. Now he’s selling out stadium shows. If you haven’t heard Hardwood Floors or Lonely Mountain Town, you’re missing out.

One of my favorite parts of the writing process for Snakeroot and Cohosh was immersing myself in the music. I lived in eastern Kentucky for a short spell while working for the Frontier Nursing Service as a literacy tutor and then as an assistant editor for their quarterly bulletin. I have fond memories of music nights when local musicians arrived at the Big House. Rugs were rolled up as I sat in with Wendell and Clarence and my brand new guitar to attempt to follow along. Wendell would nod, telling me which chords to play. “A minor to C, then G and back to A minor. That’s it.” It was incredible to play with these guys. Another volunteer pulled out her violin and they taught her to fiddle. Little kids joined in with spoons while others danced.

Dark, wintry nights were anything but.

These were formative days for me. I learned to make apple butter with another student, a day-long affair I’ll never forget. Heady scents of cinnamon and boiling apples brings me back to that chilly day. Cinda’s husband, Raleigh retold a terrifying anecdote of being chased by a rattlesnake after stepping on one as he pulled pole beans from the garden. On another occasion I rushed Raleigh to the Mary Breckinridge Hospital when he showed up with an enormous welt on his leg. That time, he got into it with a brown recluse spider.

My year in Hyden was full of firsts. I spent late afternoons making a cherry wood stool with wood craftsman and teller of tall tales, 80 year-old Sherman Wooten. Sherman was known for fish-frys and teaching the volunteers the art of woodworking. I tasted my first fried rattlesnake at Sherman’s cabin. It wasn’t too bad, a little fishy, but not bad. Actually his brother George, former mayor of Hyden, KY was an even bigger tall tale teller. He led tours of the closed Finley-Hurricane Mine up Camp Creek.

On a serious note, Snakeroot and Cohosh delves into the lives of people living in poverty during a time when coal mining was one of a few options for employment. My character Luther struggles in this story with life as a coal miner. His fears are real. And the fears of family members of miners was also very real. On December 30, 1970, 38 men lost their lives in a mining explosion up Hurricane Creek, a few short miles from where I lived and worked twenty years later. In 2020, the Louisville Courier Journal did a piece, Remembering the Hyden, KY Mine Disaster 50 Years Later, full of photos from that awful day. Mining disasters were a stark reality during the time my story takes place. By the time I lived in Hyden, KY, the Hurricane Mine had long since closed. But entering the gaping mouth of that structure is something I’ll never forget. You can’t help but feel the presence of ghosts in that space.

Yes, my story delves into dark places. Dark places of the human psyche as well as dark places such as a dilapidated trailer in Gilley where Eva struggles to survive each day. Snakeroot and Cohosh is more than just a story of survival. It’s a story of ingenuity and perseverance and finding a community that lifts you up. During my brief time in Kentucky, I found those people. I attended church with my student Melanie’s family. Her father, Jim Hayes, was the minister at the Camp Creek Church of Christ and I attended most Sundays. Music was sung a cappella – just voices, in three to four part harmony – simple hymns such as Farther Along, I‘ll Fly Away and Amazing Grace. I joined the family at family reunions and church revivals. I ate with their large extended family most Sundays, dining on fresh caught squirrel stew or pot roast with shucky beans, ending with apple stack or molasses cake.

The food was as much of the experience living in that community as was the music. Stay tuned for upcoming recipe shares for some of my favorites. I’ve also been requested to do a video blog of me making one or two of the dishes featured in the story. As we get closer to the launch, I’ll provide a list of recipes and feel free to chime in on the one you’d like me to feature in a cooking vlog.

Finally I’ve been attempting to recall some of the old songs we used to sing. I even pulled out my guitar to try and sing a bit. My guitar playing is rusty, as it was never very good. Back in the day, I was lucky to know talented musicians who’d accompany us when we’d sit around and play. At some point I may be brave enough to post one of those attempts but for the time being, I’ll keep listening to my extensive Appalachia playlist which I’ll post soon.

Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll stay tuned.

Enjoy this beautiful ballad to Kentucky. Cathy Schieffelin