A Murder In Passing (27 page)
Read A Murder In Passing Online
Authors: Mark de Castrique
I am grateful to the many people who offered their expertise, encouragement, and, in some cases, their names for the creation of this novel.
The Kingdom of the Happy Land existed in the North Carolina mountains as described. The story of the commune of former slaves and the slave owner who led them to their refuge was first told to me by the late Louise Bailey, friend and keeper of our mountains' history. Ed Bell, whose family owns the site of the Kingdom, was invaluable for showing me the actual location and for being a character in the book. I'm indebted to Henry Harkey for his research of North Carolina inheritance laws and to Judge Fritz Mercer for sharing courtroom procedures and appearing as a fictional version of himself. Arborist Jack McNeary provided facts regarding the hollow log, and Sheriff Chipp Bailey enabled me to learn about the forensic evaluation of gunshot wounds. My brother Craig de Castrique and the Asheville Mushroom Club offered suggestions for Sam's fungi quest.
Historian and folklorist David Brose gave me access to hundreds of Doris Ulmann photographs housed at the John C. Campbell Folk School and he shared stories about the travels of Doris Ulmann and John Jacob Niles to the area. Thanks to David for also spending time with Sam and Nakayla. All other characters are fictional and any resemblance to actual persons is coincidental.
Readers might be interested in several books used for reference: A Devil and a Good Woman, TooâThe Lives of Julia Peterkin by Susan Millar Williams; and The Life and Photography of Doris Ulmann by Philip Walker Jacobs. I'm grateful to Blue Ridge Community College for access to Sadie Smathers Patton's 1957 limited edition monograph, The Kingdom of the Happy Land.
While the existence of the Kingdom and the photographic treks of Doris Ulmann and John Jacob Niles were real events, the linking of the two is an invention for the story.
Creation of a novel is not done in isolation. Thanks to Jessica Tribble, Annette Rogers, Robert Rosenwald and the entire staff of Poisoned Pen Press, and to my editor Barbara Peters and agent Linda Allen. Also thanks to my wife Linda, daughters Lindsay and Melissa, and son-in-law Pete for reviewing the manuscript.
Finally, I'm grateful to the booksellers and librarians who recommend my stories to their patrons, and to you, the reader, for spending your time with Sam and Nakayla in the mountains of North Carolina.
Mark de Castrique
January 2013
Charlotte, North Carolina
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