BLUE RIDGE CALLING

“The mountains were ancient, worn down by time and eroded by water, bones, footsteps. The trees had long memories. Feeling it now, knowing what she did, it felt impossible that Kora had ever doubted there was magic here.”

The Appalachian mountains are some of the oldest in the world. They say ancient magic runs through these rivers and valleys.

Two years ago, a car accident on a perilous mountain road sent a family into freefall, and none of them have been the same since.

Sage used to have everything under control: perfect grades, record times on the swim team, and carefully medicated ADHD. But ever since her mom died, she’s just been going through the motions, and no one in her family seems to notice.

Kora has known Sage’s family her whole life, so losing Sage’s mom was like losing her own. At the end of the summer, she’s supposed to abandon her beloved Blue Ridge mountains for a prestigious art school in New York, but leaving now feels wrong. And an unexpected romance with a new girl in town might complicate things.

Then there’s Sam, Sage’s older brother. He’s spent the last two years traipsing through the mountains, trying to find evidence of local ghost stories. He said he would be back by now, but no one has heard from him.

To find him, Kora and Sage will have to dig deeper into the myths and legends of the mountains they call home — before it’s too late.

BLUE RIDGE CALLING, coming September 22, 2025 from Running Wild Press.