Lucinda Mae lives with her family and their homestead animals in Painter Creek Hollow, a secluded nook of the Blue Ridge Escarpment in upstate South Carolina that people call the Gorges. The story explores the lifeways of rural mountain families who remain tied to traditional ways of living, such as raising hogs, poultry, hunting squirrels, and using local plants for medicine, among others. The winter holiday season, the warming earth, and the ways misunderstanding and prejudice can harm relationships between friends and between generations are also themes in the novel.
Thorpe Moeckel, bedtime reader and storyteller to his three children, has taught at Hollins University since 2005. He is the author of six books and three chapbooks. His work has appeared in many publications, and has been recipient of NEA, Javits, Hoyns, Sustainable Arts, and Kenan Fellowships. This is his first book for young readers.
