Orion Saddler threw his head back and defiantly yelled, "Next time you see me, you won't know me too well!" to school officials as he angrily swung himself around and headed home for summer vacation. His school friends reacted wildly because Orion's outburst served notice that he would indeed be back in the fall; and when he returns he'll be many times more troublesome than ever before. 
Although Orion doesn't know it yet, this verbal onslaught signals a pivotal point of change which is about to happen in his life. Terribly concerned that their only son is drifting toward serious trouble, his parents send him to stay with his grandparents on a remote farm in southern West Virginia for summer break. Shortly after arriving, an assortment of exciting adventures provides him with new experiences that enlarge his physical and emotional boundaries. 
Over the weeks that follow, Orion will build a relationship with his grandparents, Poppy John and Mammaw Saddler. They are also the ones who guide him through the ups and downs of farm life with love, discipline, and freedom. Orion first sees the farm as peculiar and confining; however, he eventually discovers something very precious and powerful in this new mountain environment - he finds a new way to look at life. Sure enough, the next time his school buddies see him, he is a different person - a completely transformed, mature Mountain Boy.

Mountain Boy: The Adventures of Orion Saddler

Teen & Young Adult

Norman D. Mullins

Literature & Fiction

Woodland Press, LLC

Why a book about the disgraced former governor? "When you consider that his accomplishments probably affected the day-to-day lives of West Virginians more than any figure in its history, the story is compelling," explained Brad Crouser. "I waited for twenty years, thinking someone else would write it but, when I realized that was unlikely, I tackled the project myself. Moore himself was reluctant to be interviewed for it, because so much ugly stuff had been written about him in recent years." He continued, "But Arch had been reduced to 'The governor who went to jail,' and there was a good chance that his significance would be lost to future generations. Love him or hate him, his life story is as fascinating as any national figure's, as interesting as Nixon's, for example. It needs to be told. There are character and political lessons to be learned from it-good and bad."

Arch: The Life Of Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr.

Biographies & Memoirs

Brad Crouser

Leaders & Notable People

This is the biography of America's Favorite Family of Gospel Music, the Hoppers. It's the account of the beloved Hoppers, the longtime anchors of the Gaither Homecoming videos, television shows and concerts. They are award-winning Gospel artists who recently received the prestigious Singing News 2008 Mixed Group of the Year. Inside this book, there are many rare and personal photos of the family from their beginnings in 1957 to today. They have experienced many mountaintop experiences and have faced just as many tragic valleys. Regardless, this American family has established a Southern Gospel music legacy over the last half-century. After All These Years, the Authorized Biography of the Hoppers is their story.

All These Years: The Authorized Biography of the Hoppers

F. Keith Davis

Foreword Charles F. Stanley and John Hagee

Arts & Literature

This ghostly anthology includes thirteen accounts of Mountain State ghostly manifestations, myths and mountain mythology, based on known legends from the state West Virginia. Themes included in this work are Mothman, the Ethel coalmine spector, the Chapmanville school haunting, the Ghost of #22 Mountain and many others. Nationally known horror writer Michael Knost serves as the anthology s editor. Participating writers are an amalgamation of professional authors and novelists in the horror, science fiction and fantasy fields, along with up-and-coming writers from Appalachia. Many are National Bram Stoker Award winning authors currently in the national spotlight. All 13 of these stories take place in the state of West Virginia and are of a family-friendly nature; however, this title is suitable for anyone, from any state, who enjoys bone-chilling ghost tales told by some of the best storytellers in the business.

Legends of the Mountain State

Michael Knost

Genre Fiction

This self-published title, by Mary Dingess Tabor Perry, is the first book under the World Literary Services imprint, a division of Woodland Press, LLC. It is a lovely memoir written and edited by 93-year-old Mary Perry, a respected woman from Logan County, West Virginia. Here she shares some of the special and humorous moments from her fascinating and full life, including more than one story that will surprise and enlighten you. Many of the accounts inside are heartwarming and down-right funny. Other tales speak of a simpler time during the early part of the 20th century. Learn about her adventures during the Great Depression and World War II. Each chapter is taken from Mary's rich and colorful tapestry of life experiences.    If you have never had the privilege of meeting Mary in person, you'll certainly enjoy getting to know her through her writings. You'll definitely enjoy In My Own Time And Place.

In My Own Time and Place

Perry, Mary Dingess Tabor

As a scion of one of the feuding families of the Allegheny and Cumberland hills, and one whose forebearers began their trek westward from the Virginia coast, I offer the following for all who may be interested or desire to hear the facts from one who has first-hand knowledge of the people of whom he writes, so says Dr. Coleman C. Hatfield in the foreword of this title. This unique book is about two proud families. It is a title that includes a comprehensive timeline of the Hatfield family migration westward and documents the history before, during and following the bloody Hatfield and McCoy feud era. Included are special stories, which have never been published before, offered directly from the Hatfield family that adds color and clarity to this famous vendetta. This work also includes the exhaustive research of the late C. A. Hatfield, a well-known attorney in the City of Logan. Besides being historically significant, this volume is a wonderful keepsake for those who love American history, or to those who call the Appalachian Mountains home.

The Feuding Hatfields & McCoys

History

Davis, F. Keith

Hatfield, Coleman C.

Americas

Newly revised and now available as a softcover, this is the story of West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr. Author Brad Crouser, a Charleston lawyer and former state tax commissioner, takes the reader from the turn of the Twentieth Century and Arch's grandfather, the entrepreneur F. T. Moore, to the present day of his Congresswoman daughter, Shelley Moore Capito, from the mountaintops of triumph to the valleys of tragedy, weaving a most colorful story that rivets the reader through thirty-one gripping chapters. Numerous stories include the near-fatal wounding of Sgt. Moore by a German machine gun in World War II; a gerrymandered Congressional race in which the entire Democratic Establishment, including three Presidents, tried to defeat him; the few minutes Moore was "premier" of the Soviet Union; being shot down in Vietnam and his 1968 helicopter crash in Lincoln County; the 1976 trial and acquittal; the creation of the state's Interstate highway system; and crimes that sent him to an Alabama prison. "He was, and will always be, a polarizing figure. I resisted the urgings of those who wanted me to portray Arch Moore as a villain, or the advice of others who wanted him presented as a saint," says Crouser about this, his second published book. "But he is neither. Instead, I tried to tell the story as fairly and accurately as I could and, in so doing, explain Moore's motivations in life and why, despite his illustrious career, he ended up getting into trouble with the feds. A genuine, three-dimensional subject has been presented, about whom the reader can draw his or her own conclusions."

Arch: The Life of Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr.

After putting together this anthology's predecessor, Legends of the Mountain State: Ghostly Tales from the State of West Virginia, editor Michael Knost realized he had barely scratched the surface with Mountain State folklore. The first time around, thirteen extraordinary authors contributed horrifying tales that left everyone goosebumped and scared of the dark. After seeing great success with the project, Woodland Press, publishers of the first edition, asked Knost to put together a second edition - one that focused on thirteen additional ghost stories and mountain legends. The new project, which is arguably scarier than its predecessor, embodies the same tone and texture of its forerunner, with 13 nationally known authors and storytellers. According to Knost, this new volume offers fresh meat to those who devoured the stories in the first volume.

Legends of the Mountain State 2

A bestseller is now available in a handsome softcover format and includes additional research, interviews and photographs. Entirely revised and re-edited, West Virginia Tough Boys remains a historically significant literary effort about mountain politics and the 1960 presidential primary campaign in West Virginia. Rich and straightforward stories of political tomfoolery, vote-buying and eventual victory for Senator Kennedy in the Mountain State's primary are documented here. West Virginia has often been sited as the most important and vital win in Kennedy's original bid for the White House. The book features a great deal of research, along with interviews and discussions with a variety of politicians and campaign workers from yesteryear. Along the way, politicos from the era Claude Ellis (head of the John F. Kennedy for President campaign, in Logan Co., WV); Raymond Chafin (leader of the Hubert H. Humphrey for President campaign, Logan Co., WV); Dan Dahill (former WV delegate, state senator and noted attorney), and others like them share interesting and sometimes humorous stories about growing up in rough and poverty stricken southern West Virginia. Collectively, these fellows influenced the course of local and state politics for more than half a century. They have rubbed shoulders with many of the icons of our era. Meanwhile, in Tough Boys, there are others like US Senator Robert C. Byrd; Alex DeFobio; Tom Godby; Bus Perry; Elvie Curry; Raamie Barker (leader of the 1968 Robert Kennedy for President campaigh, in Logan Co., WV) and Mel Cottone (a Kennedy advanceman and eventual member of JFK's administration) who take supportive roles in this fascinating journey. It was a time when John, Bobby, Ted and even Rosemary Kennedy became acquainted with the common folks throughout the Mountain State and walked the streets of many small towns in the region. Perhaps, by learning more about the West Virginia's Tough Boys, you ll better understand all politicians of the era ... and today's leaders, as well.

West Virginia Tough Boys Revised

Historical

A brand new title, The Blair Mountain War: Battle of the Rednecks, tells the true story of the Blair Mountain War, the largest organized armed uprising in US labor history and led almost directly to the national labor laws currently in effect. The title's release comes at a time of controversy surrounding Blair Mountain as state officials ask the National Parks Service to remove the mountain from the National Register of Historic Places. This is on the heels of the historic mountain just being named to the National Register last month, on Monday, March 30th. Objectors seem to be a coordinated campaign by landowning and coal companies that are gathering signatures of property holders to oppose the nomination. "The Blair Mountain War: Battle of the Rednecks is a reprinting of the writings of George T. Swain," said Keith Davis, of Woodland Press, publishers of the title, "and it has great historic significance to southern West Virginia. It will certainly appeal to all lovers of history." At the time of this original manuscript, written in 1927, Swain was a reporter for the county newspaper, The Logan County Banner, in Logan. Here Swain paints a vivid picture, in his most unique style, of West Virginia in bygone days. Here he documents the accounts surrounding the 1921 Blair Mountain War and the struggle between state coal miners, calling themselves "rednecks", and the people of Logan. Granted, Swain was a staunch supporter of the controversial and powerful Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin at the time of this writing, so his particular take on the mine war is from that perspective. When he describes Logan County miners in this manuscript, he portrays them as being largely content and well-treated by mine operators. Yet, the truth was that there was a great deal of discontent in the Logan coalfields in 1921. As the late state historian Robert Y. Spence once wrote: "There was the resentment of difficult work for little pay. There was resentment caused by the mine owners' refusal to negotiate with the miners' union. Most of all, there was resentment of the attitude the mine owners had for the men who worked underground supporting the owners' way of living." Sheriff Chafin and mine operators within the county were defiant over and opposed to the unionization of the Logan field. For this, and for other related events that took place in the state, tensions escalated and, eventually, war ensued. It's been written that the result of this battle at Blair Mountain marked a turning point in the national movement to better the conditions of working people by demanding the legalization of unions. It was the largest armed labor confrontation in U.S. history. To this day, the Blair Mountain War stands as a powerful symbol for workers, even though Swain wearily concludes that the battle was a "foolhardy undertaking". "For historic purposes, this volume has great importance," Davis added, "and it specifically describes what was happening in the City of Logan, and throughout the county, after the miners' march began. Supporters rallied to Logan's defense at the time, and, eventually, federal troops were sent into the city by US President Warren Harding. This bit of West Virginia has national significance." The West Virginia State Archives stated that the mine wars have demonstrated the inability of the state and federal governments to defuse the situations short of initiating armed intervention. Regardless, the details behind The Blair Mountain War remain fascinating and controversial. True American history, The Battle of Blair Mountain is a fascinating account.

The Blair Mountain War

George T. Swain

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