Eight years ago, Julia Franks and her husband bought a farm in western North Carolina. At the time, the 1800s farmhouse on the land was still standing and when they walked in the doors, they were greeted by dozens of odd artifacts, including animal bones, locks of hair, insect hives, and even a jar with a fingernail in it. Franks is a high school literature teacher and lover of writing, so it was hard for her to not let her imagination run wild. Her curiosity about the lives of the people who once lived there inspired her debut novel, “Over The Plain Houses,” (Hub City Press/2016).
The book is set in Appalachia in the 1930s and 40s and tells the story of a husband and wife named Irenie and Brodis. Host Frank Stasio talks with author Julia Franks about the inspiration behind this book. Franks will be at Lanier Library in Tryon August 16, and at McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro and The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines on August 20.
