Of course if you like to keep a journal or diary, and you like to keep your eyes and ears open, you can find your own stories and adventures right under your nose, in your own backyard.

That's what happened to me. When I came home to North Carolina in the 1980's. I became fascinated by Appalachian stories I had heard as a child. Several of my Jack books draw upon the people and places I see around me in my mountain environment.