Tales of the Beechy Hollow Great Outdoors Club follows a weary journalist who returns home and stumbles into his late father’s wild band of outdoorsmen, discovering that friendship, foolishness, and the forest are entwined. Are any of the Beechy Hollow Club members based on real people from your own life or hometown?

All the main characters in the book are a composite, a blend of real people I’ve known across my life. Rufus Sneed, for example, was inspired by my great-grandfather, who was born in the 1800s and lived to be 99. He lived with my grandparents on a small farm until his death in the ’70s. I grew up listening to his amazing stories about rural life. Similarly, Rob and Rusty are fictionalized versions of my brother and me.

The foundation for the character Scoutster was a nerdy but well-intentioned Scoutmaster I once knew; I layered in traits of a bourbon-loving outdoorsman and a magistrate from other personalities. Same with Smitty, a good-natured farmer and mechanic who loves to hunt and fish. I’ve known lots of good people in Appalachia who fit that mold.

My personal favorite, Holly, is a combination of college friends and people I’ve met over the years. She will play a more significant role in the next book.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I set out to write a series of humorous outdoor stories. But over time, as I kept reworking and revising the stories and characters, I think a few underlying themes emerged. One is the innate human desire to return to our roots. All the stories spring from the main character, Rob, returning to his hometown. Other themes would be the redemptive power of wild spaces, and the Appalachian love of storytelling.

In my book, I primarily use these ideas to mine for humor. While some of the comedy definitely borders on the absurdist, I believe a heartfelt strain runs beneath the surface that speaks to a genuine love of home and the importance of found family. I’m always eager to hear what other themes readers detect in the stories. Of course, I also hope they get a chuckle or two along the way.

The setting feels so alive. What kind of research or personal experience shaped your portrayal of Appalachian life?

The stories are deeply rooted in my years of hiking, camping, and fishing across West Virginia, Kentucky, and southeastern Ohio. I’ve also spent time living in Tennessee and exploring the Great Smoky Mountains.

As for research, I began studying Appalachian dialects several years ago, starting as a newspaper project that quickly grew. This involved poring over books in the library and studying some of the linguistic research being done at West Virginia University. You can see this in the story, “The Evil Psychic Mule of Devil Ridge,” through the old-time mountaineer character, Shiloh Young.

While this type of speech was once dismissively called “hillbilly,” it’s now one of the most-studied dialects in the field. Sadly, authentic Appalachian speech is rapidly dying off. The good news is there’s less stigma affecting young people from our region. Appalachians are increasingly taking pride in their heritage. I hope some of that comes through in the book.

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