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Review of “Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty”
“Blood on Their Hands” is a memoir that journalist and podcaster Mandy Matney wrote after four years of reporting on Alex Murdaugh, his family, and their numerous related crimes. It details how she first became aware of the Murdaughs after Mallory Beach went missing as a result of the boat crash on Archers Creek, the mysterious death of Stephen Smith…
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Book Review: Secrets Laid to Rest by Catherine C. Hall
Book Summary Fall is in the air, the scent of autumn leaves and apple pies, and now a brand new business is opening its doors in small-town Sutter, Georgia. But not just any business. It’s the Golden Girls meet the Ghostbusters when four women find themselves in an unlikely career: Southeastern Paranormal Investigations. Ree Lane, a stylish widow, is more…
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Book Review: As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back by Alle C. Hall
Nominated for The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award, Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence: Carlie is not merely traveling. A child sexual abuse survivor, as a teen she steals ten thousand dollars from her parents and runs away to Asia. There, the Lonely…
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Find Your Voice This Fall
The month of October is always fun, as we break out our fall layers, toast s’mores, carve pumpkins, and figure out if we’re going to partake in the Halloween fun or simply hand out the candy. While you’re contemplating the perfect costume, why not consider trying out a new voice with your writing?I’ve always been a huge fan of the…
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The Unsolved Murder of Virginia Olson in North Carolina
The University of North Carolina at Asheville will always have a special place in my heart, because it was at that small college that I came into my own as a journalist. The small class sizes afforded me the ability to work closely with other students and talented professors who wanted me to succeed. For three years I worked on…
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Did Jeffrey MacDonald Murder His Family?
One of the most intriguing cases from North Carolina involves a man named Jeffrey MacDonald. MacDonald had attended Princeton University on a scholarship and then Northwestern University for medical school. He married his high school sweetheart, a woman named Collette Stevenson, before becoming a surgeon in the 6th Special Forces Group in the United States Army stationed at Fort Bragg…
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Season 2 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Vs. the Book
This post contains spoilers for both the second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the books the show is based on. Having recently binged both seasons of the Amazon Prime series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the books that inspired it, I wanted to share my thoughts on how the second season was different from book, “It’s…
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Season 1 of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Vs. the Book
This post contains spoilers for both the second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the books the show is based on. I’ll admit it. I got sucked into watching “The Summer I Turned Pretty” on Amazon Prime when I saw multiple online discussions about it. I kept seeing references to the love triangle between Isabel “Belly” Conklin and…
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Book Review: I Chose You by Carmen Leal
Book Summary For every pet parent who knows there’s no such thing as ‘just a dog,’ this collection of uplifting glimpses into the lives of ordinary-turned-extraordinary dogs and the people who love them is a tail-wagging good read. Thanks to the rescue dog who saved her life after a traumatic brain injury, Carmen Leal went from saying she’d never have…
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Confessions of a “Free Spirit” Writer
Financial expert Dave Ramsey has a philosophy that people have different personality types when it comes to managing money. “Nerds” are the ones who like creating a financial budget, sticking to it, and keeping a close eye on the finances because it gives them a sense of security. “Free spirits” don’t like to be constrained by the budget and have…
