In 1866, communities across western North Carolina were forced to pick up the pieces left by the Civil War. Residents had ties to the Confederacy and the Union. As a result, the region was scattered with divided homes and hostile relations.
In his new novel, "That Bright Land" (Turner Publishing Company/2016), Terry Roberts tells the story of a former soldier and spy who is sent down to investigate a serial killer responsible for the deaths of Union sympathizers in western N.C.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Roberts about constructing historical fiction and and the hostility present in western N.C. after the Civil War. Roberts reads at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 10 at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.