As I schedule events for the autumn, I'm already thinking about ghosts and goblins.  I'm excited about The Phantom Cavalry of Little River Canyon being chosen to run as a feature in the fall edition of Lookout Alabama magazine.  It's the cover story of my book Hollers from the Hollows.  The editors are running it as a fiction story, and okay, I did take bits and pieces of things people told me and combined them into a compelling story.  So, are the phantoms real or not?

Well, the coffin-shaped rock located on Eberhart Point at Little River Canyon is definitely real.  No one seems to know exactly how or why it got there.  Union and Confederate soldiers roamed the area during the Civil War and the Cherokee lived there for thousands of years before being forced away on the Trail of Tears.  The 500-foot drop into the canyon is also very real.  People have reported hearing strange rumblings and seeing ghost-like apparitions floating over the abyss.  Maybe the phantom cavalry is not so made up, after all.

Just to be safe, if you're visiting the area and suddenly hear what sounds like horses' hooves coming at a gallop, move away from the ledge.  You wouldn't want to be conscripted into riding forever with the phantoms, would you? 

I think I'll go play my guitar for a while.  For some reason Ghost Riders in the Sky is on my mind. 

I read in American Profile yesterday where actress Danica McKellar has a new book titled Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape.  You may remember her from the hit TV show The Wonder Years.  I also really like the Love at the Christmas Table movie in which she stars.  She is a beautiful lady who has a degree from UCLA in mathematics.  So, math is sexy.  Maybe I should've paid more attention to it in school, instead of to the head cheerleader who sat in front of me in algebra.  I remember her figure, but not much else from that class.     

I was more interested in history.  It wasn't just the stories, tough they captivated me.  I wanted to go visit the places where important decisions were made and battles were fought.  To stand in a room or on hallowed ground is exciting.  Listening to a guide interpret its meaning is exhilarating.  None of this would be possible without generous, like-minded people giving of their time and money to study and promote preservation. 

Many are under the assumption that history is boring and stuffy, like a reference section in a library.  Libraries are awesome, but history extends well beyond their stacks of books.  My particular interest is the Civil War.  Battlefield parks are great places to spend a day - or two or three.  They're clean, and most provide acres of land to hike, job and ride a bike.  They're great places to take dates.  The more land saved, the more opportunities for enjoyment.  I highly recommend the Civil War Trust.  It's the premier organization for battlefield preservation.  By visiting http://www.civilwar.org you can learn about member benefits, conferences, teacher workshops and more.  Of course, many communities have local chapters of various historical groups.  So get involved.  History could use your help.  Far from stuffy, we history buffs are an attractive lot, too.   

While taking pictures of the old courthouse in the Lebanon community of DeKalb County on November 1, 2011, I captured the image of a ghost.  No really.  Take a look at the upper right window and you can see "Antebellum Annie" waving to me with her left hand while her right arm rests down at her side.  (For a closer view please refer to the home page.)  Her right hand seems to be coming through the glass of the window pane.  Spooky!!

For years there has been the rumor that a female spirit roamed the upstairs of the historic structure, and it's true!  But why did she choose to manifest herself to me?  Maybe it's because I was writing her story, to be included in my collection of ghost stories and spooky tales from DeKalb County titled Hollers From The Hollers.  Or perhaps it's because I remind her of someone special.  She's waiting for her Johnny to come marching home.  Is she still forlornly waving goodbye, or waving hello?  Was someone beside me that I wasn't aware of? 

This is another legitimate reason to preserve historic structures.  When something dramatic or traumatic occurs at a place it leaves an indelible mark that cannot be erased.  When they are neglected or torn down, not only does the outside vanish, what's inside does as well.  These old places have stories to tell.  Voices are calling, and spirits waving, to us.  We need to pay attention.  There are lessons to be learned in preservation.         

Whenever I tell people I'm a writer, the first thing they usually ask is, "Do you write fiction or non-fiction?"  I tell them both.  "What?"  Both.  "How?"  Very carefully, which is how every writer should approach their craft.  If I throw down stuff too quickly, I tend to cross over, which is great for music but not for prose.

With fiction, I want to entertain by leading the reader on an exploration.  I attempt to involve them on the first page and have them salivating to find out what happens in the rest of the book.  I encourage questions to enhance the experience.  Show, not just tell, a story.  Make it easy for the reader to grasp the picture I'm painting and formulate their version in their mind.

With non-fiction, which is what I began my career doing in articles for newspapers and magazines, the job is to inform.  Facts must be accurate and information precise.  Names, dates, etc. must be checked and re-checked.  If something's amiss, somebody will catch it and call me on it.  The trick is to keep the words flowing and not be dry.  I've been reviewed as "making learning history fun". 

Sometimes, though, I stray and go into non-fiction mode while writing a fiction story.  I have to go back and scrap those paragraphs, eliminate words and get back on track to lead the readers into some new place.  I've also strayed into fiction mode while writing articles.  Editors don't like this, either.  I have to tighten up and include sources while not assuming or assigning frames of mind to characters.  It's all about editing while keeping my writer's voice.  Learning can be fun, but with a novel (historical fiction is my genre) it needs to be involuntary.  Get caught up in the story and gain knowledge despite yourself.