Tazewell Author Writes Of Tragedy

Linda Hudson Hoagland, “Watch Out for Eddy” (Henderson Publishing, $24.95)

In a heartfelt novel, author Linda Hoagland of North Tazewell, Va., recounts the story of her son, “Eddy,” who was struck by a car in 1986.
Beginning with the accident and its aftermath, Hoagland writes of a seemingly endless wait in a hospital emergency room.
Then she unfolds a heartbreaking tale of learning what Eddy’s neurosurgeon announced – that it would take five years for the boy’s brain to heal.
“When this happened, I had nowhere to turn,” Hoagland said during a recent telephone interview. “I wrote it to give somebody else an idea of what to expect.”
Still, when all the waiting was over, life took a turn that never seemed normal.
Young Eddy – a shy, passive, gentle boy before the accident – became aggressive and self-destructive after he woke up, Hoagland writes.
“This story is true, and it happened in Tazewell County, Va.,” said Hoagland, the purchase order clerk for the Tazewell County Public School System.
“After five years of gradually decreasing hell, Eddy returned to almost the normal Eddy he was before the destruction,” Hoagland said. “If we learned nothing else during this ordeal, we learned that we were good at surviving.”
Linda Hoagland is signing copies of “Watch Out For Eddy” at the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Va., on July 26-27, Aug. 1-2 and Aug. 8-9 (all from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) as part of the arts and crafts show near Stonewall Square. To order the book, call (276) 979-9373 or e-mail .

Various authors, “Zeniths & Zephyrs: Mountain Peaks and Soft Breezes” (MtnValy Publishing, $12.95)

From Hazel Hale-Bostic of Swords Creek, Va., to Mary Ann Artrip of Elizabethton, Tenn., more than a dozen authors have combined their talents in the new “Zeniths & Zephyrs: Mountain Peaks and Soft Breezes.”
Published by the Cleveland, Va.-based MtnValy Publishing, this book displays various authors – including Lisa Hall of Fall Branch, Tenn., and Katie Wilson Cook, formerly of Meadowview, Va. – telling short stories, all based on their love for the mountains.
Rachel Riggsby, a retired journalist from Maxie, Va., writes about “Remnants of Love,” while Denton Loving, who lives near Cumberland Gap, Tenn., writes about “A Sorrow for Mothers.”
The book’s publisher, Doris Musick, an author of three novels, wrote the introduction.
“The stories themselves are similar in nature to my longer historical fiction books,” Musick said. “The stories are fictional and take place in the area.”
Doris Musick is signing copies of “Zeniths & Zephyrs,” July 26-29, at the Virginia Highlands Festival in Abingdon, Va., as part of the arts and crafts show near Stonewall Square. To order the book, call (276) 889-4599 or e-mail .

Helen S. Owens, “Stand and Face the Morning” (Xlibris, $23.99)

Author Helen S. Owens’ new historical fiction weaves a compelling tale of life on the frontier in “Stand and Face the Morning,” a romantic story of the Musick and Lewis families of colonial Virginia.
These pioneers follow the migration pattern down the Great Wagon Road and into the backcountry of the Carolinas. The narrative leads them through the trials of hewing homesteads from the wilderness and wrestling with the choices of allegiance at the onset of the Revolutionary War.
For Owens, of Lebanon, Va., “Stand and Face the Morning” is the culmination of a lifelong dream, she said.
The 566-page book, itself, is based on the author’s meticulous research of early Virginia life.
“Stand and Face the Morning” is available at Sweet Magnolia, Lebanon; the Historical Society of Washington County Library, Abingdon; and the Cave House Craft Shop, Abingdon. Owens is signing copies of her book on Aug. 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Cave House, 279 E. Main St. For more information, call (276) 628-7721 or visit http://www.helenowens.com.