Two years ago in September, my debut historical novel, Keowee Valley, was published by the lovely and fabulous folks at Bell Bridge Books.

The whole thing–researching and writing the novel, acquiring a literary agent, and finally selling the book to a traditional publisher–had been a trip down a long and challenging road. Promoting the novel for the past two years has been an amazing experience, and I’ve met an inordinate amount of incredible people, and have had the chance to visit some truly special places, because of it.

My life since Keowee Valley’s publication has been a whirlwind of work, school, and family. Now, here I am–one newly minted kindergartner, one new baby, one MFA earned, and a new gig as a newspaper columnist later. I’m working on my next historical novel. And I’m wishing I had the power to slow time. Or become Wonder Woman. Either of those would be nice.

So, in celebration of Keowee Valley’s two-year anniversary, I’m giving away a copy of a super-cool book: Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook, by Barbara R. Duncan & Brett H. Riggs (published in conjunction with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, by University of North Carolina Press). It was a much-used resource for me when I was researching the 18th century, the Cherokee, and the Southern Appalachians–everywhere that my characters would roam, and everything and everyone they might run into. I literally hiked to and/or visited nearly every spot mentioned in the book.

If you’re at all interested in visiting these breathtakingly gorgeous places, or even just interested in the Cherokee, their history, legends, and ancestral lands, this is the book for you. Or take it from Appalachian Journal, who calls Cherokee Heritage Trails Guidebook, “A wonderful introduction to the culture, history, and geography of the Cherokee homeland. . . . An essential purchase for anyone interested in exploring Cherokee country and what it has meant and continues to mean to be Cherokee.”

I’ve got a real pretty, brand-new copy ready to be mailed out. All you have to do: Comment in the “comments” section of this post by midnight Friday, Oct. 3rd. Please tell me what made you want to read Keowee Valley!  I’ll toss everybody’s response into a hat, shake it around and pull one winner. On Monday, Oct. 6th, I’ll post the winner.

(I’m sure there’s a more Internet/blogger savvy way to do this, but I’m a simple girl.)

Looking forward to hearing from y’all. But most of all, THANK YOU for reading my work!