Jon Nappa   Delores Varvorines

Wicker’s book details music of the Carolinas
Novello Festival Press has released “Making Notes: Music of the Carolinas,” edited by Ann Wicker of Charlotte. The book is a sampler of more than 50 essays, articles and recollections about the music and musicians with roots in the Carolinas and how this musical legacy continues to grow and thrive.

The region is famous for being home to musicians as diverse as James Taylor, James Brown, John Coltrane, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Nina Simone. They are just a few of the icons profiled in this collection.

Here are some other highlights:

• Rockabilly piano-player the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz reports on the enduring popularity of Carolina Beach Music.
• Novelist Sharyn McCrumb explores the murder mystery behind the popular folk song “Tom Dooley.”
• Journalist Frye Gaillard profiles old-time musician Arthur Smith, who fought Hollywood moviemakers for ownership of his song, “Duelin’ Banjos,” and won.

“The men and women who sing and play and write songs often put up with low pay for long hours and have their hard work stolen from them on the Internet,” Wicker says. “But these are also the people who could not and would not do anything else – the ones who take simple joy in a well-made guitar, who practice that chord until their fingers bleed, who hear the songs playing constantly in their heads, who drive hundreds of miles to play one gig and who share that passion with others, no matter the cost.

“I have been privileged to watch (and hear) Steve Stoeckel scream the scream he writes about and to hear Loonis McGlohon compose a song, on the spot, at my wedding rehearsal dinner. I have watched in awe as Woody Mitchell bends a guitar string to get a particular note.

“In this collection, I wanted to put together not a history nor a tribute (although those elements are certainly a part of some of the essays) but a sampler about the rich musical legacy of the Carolinas. I hoped to find writers – who may also be musicians themselves – who had a personal interest and a strong connection to the music and the people of this region.

“Each person who picks up ‘Making Notes’ will want to see his or her favorite band or musician or song or venue included. In the Carolinas, we have the good fortune to have so many wonderful music connections that it was impossible to include them all. My hope is that readers will find some of their favorites but will also be open to new musical experiences they read about here.”

Wicker is a longtime journalist who grew up in Mooresville. Her love of music began with the Beatles and was sealed at a 1966 concert where a young Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees. She is a graduate of Davidson College and holds a master of fine arts from Queens University. She is a free-lance writer for Lake Norman Magazine and writes the Out to Lunch column each month.

Novello Festival Press is the award-winning publishing project of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The book is available at bookstores.

There will be a book signing at Main Street Books in Davidson on June 17. Kevin Winchester, one of the contributors, will read and play, and Ed Southern, another contributor, will read. Wicker also will be there. All three will be available to sign books, starting about 7 p.m.

Rescues at sea are basis for book
“Storm Warriors,” Jon Nappa’s inspirational novel based on history, has been released by Navpress.

Nappa, who has lived in Miami, Atlanta, Manhattan and Los Angeles during his career as a writer-producer-director in television and motion pictures, settled his family in the Lake Norman area as a quality-of-life move

The novel inspires readers to consider their own willingness to risk their welfare for the sake of others in desperate need. He weaves a tale of heroism based on the true story of Englishman Lionel Lukin, inventor of the land-based rescue lifeboat, which would carry a team of trained rescue workers out to ships that were foundering and take the passengers and crew to safety. The book includes tales of thrilling rescues.

It is available at bookstores, at online sites such as Amazon.com and through the publisher, www.NavPress.com.

Challenges lead to inspirational book
Delores Varvorines of Mooresville has published “Precious in His Eyes,” her inspirational story of daunting challenges in her life and the faith that carried her through them.

She has dealt with divorce, injuries from a car wreck, fibromyalgia, loss of her home and business and, ultimately, homelessness. She says she found peace, new direction and a realization of the difference between wants and needs through God.

The book is available at 704-948-7226 or through Precious Gifts Ministry, PO Box 3982, Mooresville, NC 28117.

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