My Bio

 Originally, this blog had hints for frugal living. Now, it will also be about my books and writing-related information.

I'm a retired middle school teacher, retired adjunct English instructor at Ferrum College, former columnist for Blue Ridge Traditions and The Smith Mountain Eagle, and 2006-07 writer-in-residence for Roanoke County Schoolsteacher I live in rural Franklin County, Virginia, where my roots run nearly 250 years deep. I'm close to—but not on—Smith Mountain Lake.

Since the early 90s, I've written articles, short stories, a little poetry and a couple of novels. My first novel was Patches on the Same Quilt, self-published in 2001 and republished in 2013. In 2016, I self-published two books—my Appalachian novel, Them That Go; and a collection of short stories, Miracle of the Concrete Jesus and Other Stories. 

My articles, book reviews, poems, or stories have appeared in Vol. II & III of Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Prime Living ("Blogging to Adventure" is online), THEMA, Blue Ridge Traditions, Virginia Adversaria, several volumes of the Poet's Domain series, Roanoke Times' Christmas Memories, A Cup of Comfort for Writers (Adams Media, 2007), It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (Friday Project, 2007), Leisure Publishing's 2008 Smith Mountain Lake Visitor's & Newcomers Guide, and the Lake Writers anthologies (Voices from Smith Mountain Lake and Reflections on Smith Mountain Lake.) She also has work in the 2018 Centennial Anthology of the Virginia Writers Club. A 2008 Prime Living article about her is here.

I have been a blogger since 2006. My main blog is "Peevish Pen," but I also have a genealogy blog, "The Naces of Lithia," and a now-outdated  "Peevish Advice" blog.

I'm a lifetime member of  Virginia Writers Club and I served as vice-president of Lake Writers for over a decade. I also served for seven years on the Board of Trustees of the Franklin County Library Board and was literary coordinator for the Mountain Spirits Festival  in Rocky Mount, VA, for all three years of its existence.

While I rarely write anymore, here are some awards I've won in the past:

First-Place Writing Awards:

• 2010 CNU Writers Conference, Fiction: "The Query Letter from Helen"
• 2007 Virginia Writers Club "Back Page" Contest (Essay): "Crit Group"
• 2007 Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib Contest (Fiction): "HotGuy16"
• 2005 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest: "The Spirit of Giving"
• 2004 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest: "The Roadhunter"
• 2002 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest: "Burning Bridges"
• 2002 Traveler Chapter of VWC Writing Contest (fiction): "Miracle of the Concrete Jesus"
• Winner 2001 Smith Mountain Arts Council Fiction Contest (SMAC underwrote part of the first press run for self-publishing Patches on the Same Quilt)
• 2001 Wytheville Chautauqua Literary Contest: Short Story: "Insult to Injury"
• 1999 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest: "Spelldown"
• 1998 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest: "Everybody's Business"
• 1996 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest: "You Ain't Buck-Nekkid & You Got Enough to Eat"
• 1996 Sherwood Anderson Short Story Contest: "Rest in Peace"
• 1994 Lonesome Pine Short Story Contest: "The Girl Who Raced Mules"

Two second places:

• 2010 Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib Contest (Fiction): “Musing With Lemons” 
• 2009 Wytheville Chautauqua Literary Contest Short Story: "Rat Killing"

Three noteworthy writing achievements:

• Runner-up 2009 Smith Mountain Arts Council Fiction ContestUnpublished Novel Contest (Stuck, my MG novel, was published by Cedar Creek in 2011)
• 1996-97 Pushcart Prize Nomination: Oct. 1996 by THEMA for "Angel On Ice"
• Finalist 1995 Roanoke Times Christmas Memory Short Story Contest: "The Magi Strike Back"

In the past, I've enjoyed entering the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest which celebrates bad writing. Here are my wins:

Winner: "Worst Western" division of the 1996 Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Contest:
Following the unfortunate bucking of his horse when it was startled by the posse's shots, Tex--who now lay in a disheveled heap in the sagebrush--pushed back his sweat-stained Stetson from one deep-set eye, spat a stream of tobacco juice at the nearest cactus, and reflected momentarily that the men approaching him with ropes probably weren't just out for a skip, and--if they were--his freshly broken ankle would have to cause him to decline any entreaties to join them. 

Winner: “Vile Pun" division of the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Contest:

Vowing to get revenge on his English teacher for making him memorize Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality," Warren decided to pour sugar in her gas tank, but he inadvertently grabbed a sugar substitute so it was actually Splenda in the gas. 

"Dishonorable" Mention: in the 1999 Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Contest:
"Well, Mummy," replied little Felicity in response to her mother's chiding, "I know for a fact you are lying to me and that I was not left on the doorstep by gypsies, as you are fond of telling me, for gypsies are not in the habit of abandoning infants on the twentieth floor of New York apartment houses, and furthermore there is absolutely no room on the street for them to park their horse and wagon, so--when you are old and in need of custodial care--we shall then see who has the last laugh as I abandon you in a substandard adult care facility."