Author Interview: Micheal Rivers on his New Release

Hi, guys!  Welcome to the new year, 2013!  I’m proud to say that my very first guest this year is my dear friend, Micheal Rivers.  He’s been on my blog before, and I’m ecstatic to have to him back again!

Welcome back to my blog, Micheal!  It’s so good to have you here again.  Congratulations on your new release, Appalachia Mountain Folklore.  Can you tell us more about your book? 

A:  Thank you very much, Emerald. It’s good to talk with you again.  Appalachia Mountain Folklore has 40 stories covering sixteen counties in Western North Carolina. When possible I included photographs to accompany the stories so people would know what these areas or places look like today. There are a few places that I respected the beliefs of the people and did not trespass. But I did get the photograph while respecting them.

I wrote this book from the prospective where the European settlers and their descents lived together sharing their knowledge and superstitions with the Native Americans in earlier times as well as today. Within these pages I also included a short history of each of the counties involved. There is a deep history involving all of these counties dating back as far as the 1600’s or before. It was amazing to see how far these counties have advanced and still was able to retain beliefs and traditions that are outdated by some of today’s society.

How did writing your folklore novel differ from your fiction novels? 

A: Writing a fiction novel 99% is purely a story or tale you have devised in your mind for the entertainment of others. It is true there is a grain of truth behind every work of fiction as well as using places that actually exist or the country of the fiction’s origin to make it believable.

Writing folklore the stories are all sworn to be true in every detail. This is not the case. There may be some details that are fact, but you have to take into consideration that each time the tale is told it grows bigger and bolder, or more horrible, than before. It is up to the author to dig out the facts and hopefully be able to tell the reader the tale is true in every respect. The facts get easily confused over time. The case of the murdered gold miner is true, and one of the offenders was hung for the crime. Where the tale starts to get sticky is trying to trace down whether his statement when he was captured was true or not. I think I would be able to tell the truth knowing I was to be hung for murder if it would make a difference in my sentence. You write the tale that has been told and then try to find the facts behind it. Not a simple task.

I have to admit just the history behind the places where the folklore is told is almost more incredible than the tale itself and in most cases more interesting.

It’s similar in genres, the paranormal, did that make writing it easier?  Was there more research involved? 

A: There was a lot more research involved regarding folklore. With writing the paranormal I can use actual investigations to add to the suspense of the story. In folklore I did investigate some places that are haunted but it was different in some ways than a normal paranormal hunt. You have to heavily rely on eye witness accounts with the majority of folklore and the chances of encountering what they have witnessed are slim at best.

Have you personally visited any of the sites involved in Appalachia Mountain Folklore during paranormal investigations?  Did you meet the ghosts there?

A: I visited all of the places and areas discussed in the book. A few of the places there were odd occurrences that are considered paranormal. I gathered some evidence, such EVP’s, and some photographs with anomalies in them that are unexplainable.

Anything else you want us to know about your new release?

A: It is available now for immediate delivery. If anyone would like an autographed copy of the book they can contact me at my website and I will be happy to sign it for them. I would like to thank all of my readers and I hope you will enjoy Appalachia Mountain Folklore.

Buy it now on Amazon or Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

About Micheal and his books:

Micheal, an American author, was born in Ahoskie, North Carolina in 1953. He served his country during the Vietnam War in the USMC. Later, his travels provided over thirty years of investigating and collecting stories of the paranormal. His genres include horror and thriller with an element of paranormal in all of his novels. The Smokey Mountain Ghost Trackers of Western North Carolina was founded by him and he is the lead investigator. Micheal currently resides in the mountains of North Carolina along with the love of his life and his Boxer he fondly calls Dee Dee.

“Appalachia Mountain Folklore” due to be released Fall 2012 by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
“Verliege” due to be released March 2012

“The Black Witch” and “Moonlight on the Nantahala” sold by Amazon Digital Services

“Ghosts of the North Carolina Shores” published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. in 2010

Visit his website http://michealrivers.com/