Linville Caverns, the "Drummer Boy" setting

Linville Caverns wends through the Blue Ridge Mountains of McDowell County, miles and miles of narrow, colorful crevices. There's an underground stream with blind fish, bottomless drops, and the glistening, humid stones of the world's oldest mountain chain.

It's also the inspiration for my new novel Drummer Boy. During the Civil War, deserters from both sides fled to the remote mountains, where a self-reliant populace was reluctant to choose sides, distrusting both governments. According to legend, you can still hear the tools and mess kits clinking in the murky depths, referred to locally as "The Jangling Hole." Above, I'm sitting by the spot of a natural campfire area in the caves. Below, you can see the Jangling Hole in all its vulvic, alien splendor. Please join the Drummer Boy flash mob by clicking on its Amazon Web page at 3 pm EST on May 11.