Two Sides of Interviewing

For the years I spent writing articles for magazines, I ended up doing many interviews. I went to Toccoa, Georgia to do an article on Doc Tommy Scott's Last Real Medicine Show for Good Old Days. I received a scholarship to attend the Folk Festival in Washington, D. C., stayed at Georgetown University, and inteviewed Viola Canady who became a quilter after sewing to keep up the dress uniforms of the soldiers at Fort Myer. Her article was published in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. In McDowell County, NC, I talked with 

 the docent at the Carson House about the quilts in their collection and wrote an article for Quilt World. I interviewed Ruth Smith and wrote about her family's heirloom eyelet dress for Threads Magazine. In Charleston, SC, I talked with sweet grass basket weavers for The Antique Trader. I interviewed a pocket watch collector in Monroe, NC, for an article commissioned by Collectors News. And, I met with Whit Canon of Albermarle, NC, who, at age 72, had ridden his bicycle 640 miles to his 50th class reunion at Mississippi State University for Mature Living.

Recently, however, I sat on the other side of the interview as Cal Bryant ask me questions about my newly released historical novel, Cleared for Planting. I met Mr. Bryant thinking that the interview would likely last for about half an hour, but we talked for over two hours. It was a comfortable interview, for he was very easy to talk with. His article probably emphasized my country roots and mountain heritage a bit more than I would have, but that's okay. I'm not ashamed of that early part of my life, because it helped make me who I am today, and it grounded me in a firm foundation of faith. The article spans five pages in the current issue of Front Porch Living (vol. 5, no, 1). Copies are free if you can find one, and the article, "The Storyteller," begins on page 24.

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