Sometimes a book is slow-growing. This one, Dunkard’s Hollow, is such a book.

As a child I often water-skied on Claytor Lake, a beautiful, deep-water lake in Virginia’s exquisitely beautiful highlands, and sprayed water on an old stone chimney that stood in the water some forty feet from the shore. I wondered why it was there.

As an adult curious about local history, I learned the chimney’s fate and that curiosity drove me to wonder about the people—some of whom were my ancestors—who had lived and died on the land that is now covered by the lake.

Such questions, along with a deep understanding of the ethos of the people of Southwestern Virginia—a place of great history and common nobility—the story of Pearl and the Dunkard, of Ned and Sky, emerged.

Over years, the original short story—of Ned and Sky—grew into the generational story you’ll find in Dunkard’s Hollow. It is one close to this author’s heart as it explores the most human desires for love and for God.

From it, I hope that readers will come to understand the beauty of the region and the beauty, dignity, and goodness of the people who live there still.