Black Mountain author releases latest novel

Black Mountain author Nancy Werking Poling will introduce her latest work, "While Earth Still Speaks," a novel set in Western North Carolina. 

Inspiration for the book, by the 2018 Alex Albright Creative Nonfiction Prize winner, came when Poling asked herself how to make her life count "during this time of ecological crisis." 

"While Earth Still Speaks" centers around Elizabeth, whose daughter Angelica has joined a cadre of eco-terrorists, and Mary has abruptly ended her “Operation: Earth Rescue” visitations at Elizabeth’s N.C. farm.

Elizabeth must discover her own calling, a passion worth risking her life for. It’s a journey into her own heart, and the adventure she embarks on is as unpredictable to her as it will be to the reader.

Poling will introduce the book and explain the threads of inspiration that brought the story together from 3 - 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, at the Black Mountain Library.

Wayne Caldwell, author of "Cataloochee," called Poling's latest book "part adventure, part environmental activism, part visionary tale.”

“Poling’s character descriptions of Elizabeth are so cinematic we see the changes, the turmoil, the parts of her that make her something of a misfit and sometimes comic saint," said columnist Ina Hughs. 

Poling's published works include the non-fiction book, "Before It Was Legal: a black-white marriage (1945-1987)"; a short story collection, "Had Eve Come First and Jonah Been a Woman" and the novel, "Out of the Pumpkin Shell."

Her prize-winning creative nonfiction story, “Leander’s Lies,” appears in the 2019 issue of the North Carolina Literary Review.

She and her husband, Jim, live in Black Mountain.