Campaign for the American Reader: Pg. 69: "Art's Blood"

Art’s Blood, named by Spinetingler Magazine as one of its 2006’s best reads, is second in the Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries series written by Vicki Lane. The series began with Signs in the Blood and will be followed by Old Wounds (June 2007) and In a Dark Season (2008).

Vicki put Art's Blood to the "page 69 test" and reported the following:

“Arrgh!” I think, looking at page 69 of Art’s Blood. It seems singularly unsuited as a representative for the rest of the book. But what the hell, I’m an English major – I can find meaning anywhere. So, here we go.

On page 69 of Art’s Blood, my protagonist Elizabeth Goodweather – fiftyish widow, herb grower, ex-back-to-the-land hippie with a mountainside farm in western NC – has just met Willow (a New Age pilgrim of the type that proliferates in nearby Asheville) whose son Aidan is the chief suspect in the murder that is central to the story. Willow is expounding on her dream of the simple life, a farm with milk goats and sheep for wool, as well as “. . . a beautiful organic garden with healing herbs – and perhaps a hospice for AIDS patients. But I have to be able to travel as well.”

Elizabeth said nothing, having heard such fantasies before. Travel and farms were, in her experience, incompatible. Milk goats required milking – twice daily. She smiled quietly, remembering her own years of keeping a cow – milking in all weathers, early and late. A neighbor had once asked her. ‘Know the difference ‘tween bein’ in jail and keepin’ a milk cow? Iffen you’re in jail, you don’t have to milk the durned cow.’”

Okay, we’ve learned a bit about Elizabeth’s past and her propensity to smile quietly and not argue with the uninformed. This brief passage also delineates three of the types that inhabit the Elizabeth Goodweather chronicles – the canny, native-born mountain folk, the New Age seekers who have made Asheville, NC and the surrounding area, “the Sedona of the East,” and Elizabeth – a “transplant” to the mountains who, after twenty-some years, has a foot in both cultures.
Onward to another excerpt.
“The cheerful twangle of a bluegrass banjo blared from the CD player in the living room, and through the kitchen window Elizabeth could see Ben and Kyra sitting together on the built-in corner bench, coffee mugs in hand. Kyra, who seemed much recovered from the shock of the night before, was actually giggling at something Ben was showing her in a magazine. . . . a Roz Chast spread in The New Yorker.”
Aha, hints of our main character’s tastes – bluegrass music and The New Yorker. Here I can’t resist mentioning a young woman who interviewed me once. She said something about Elizabeth being a transplanted Yankee. I was aghast. “Where the hell did you get that idea? She’s a native Floridian with Alabama ancestry on her mother’s side! What makes you think she’s a Yankee?”
“Well, she’s a liberal . . . and she eats goat cheese and reads The New Yorker.”
Ah.
The excerpt also gives us a glimpse of Ben, Elizabeth’s nephew and business partner, who is about to become involved with Kyra, the troubled young artist who is somehow at the center of the mystery. One of Kyra’s lovers has recently been murdered; another is under suspicion of the murder; and the house the three shared has just been torched. But is Kyra villain, victim, both . . . or neither?
And a final excerpt, as Kyra jumps up and runs to hug Willow.
“What’s happening with Aidan? Did you see our house? I tried to get our stuff out but they wouldn’t let me . . . Tell me Aidan’s all right.”
What, indeed, is happening with Aidan?
So, there’s more meat on Page 69 than I had thought – characters and characterization, setting, a bit of back story, foreshadowing – all that writing stuff.

Thanks to Vicki for the input.

Read an excerpt from Art's Blood.

Among the praise for Art's Blood:

Lane's sharp eye for detail gets put to good use in this second installment of her Appalachian series. At 53, Elizabeth Goodweather has been a resident of Asheville, N.C., for more than two decades, operating a small farm with her nephew Ben. This is a time of transition for the rural community, where older residents who still churn their own butter live side by side with hip young artists looking for inspiration. Three such artists, Kyra, Aidan and Boz, known collectively as The 3, have moved into the house across the road from Elizabeth's and are planning a performance art piece for the new wing of Asheville's Museum of Art. When Boz is found dead, and The 3's house burns to the ground, Elizabeth gets drawn into a dangerous mystery that may lead her to share Boz's fate. The widow Goodweather is a wonderful character: plucky, hip and wise. The dialogue sparkles with authenticity, and Lane generates suspense without sacrificing the charm and mystique of her mountain community.
–Publishers Weekly

Art’s Blood is the second in the Elizabeth Goodweather series by Vicki Lane and it’s a terrific addition. Skillfully written full of dynamic characters of substance with a well scripted plot that pulls you in and will keep you reading deep into the night. With an eye for detail Lane has given us a vivid portrayal of North Carolina’s hill country and it‘s many varied people. The dialogue is effective and exceedingly well done helping to give a real flavor for the dialect of the region. Elizabeth Goodweather is a spirited heroine who is a joy to read about almost as if reading about an old friend. An evocative story that will grip readers from beginning to end.
–Andrea Maloney, Spinetingler Magazine

Vicki Lane shows us an exotic and colorful picture of Appalachia from an outsider's perspective – through a glass darkly.
–Sharyn McCrumb