I am southern fiction writer. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the women writers whose works have most influenced my own are a mixed bag of Southern ladies. From Dorothy Allison’s novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, to contemporary New York Times bestselling author, Deborah Smith, to Fannie Flagg, the Alabama lass that can tickle your funny bone with her words, the list is a long one indeed. And I haven’t even mentioned Eudora Welty, Margaret Mitchell, or Harper Lee.

Since this is supposed to be a short post, I’ll just mention one of my current favorites here. A native Georgian, Deborah Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of novels portraying life and love in the modern Appalachian South. I fell in love with her writing when I read On Bear Mountain., a story about the pull of families, choices that break the heart, and the redeeming power of art, love, and understanding – many of the same universal themes I build my own novels, such as Breaking TWIG, around.

In my next post on Sept, 24^th, I’ll share other influential Southern women writers whose works have amused, entertained, and educated me. And I’ll reveal my favorite of all and the influence her work has had on me as an author, a Southerner, and a human being.

Thanks for stopping by,

Deborah Epperson