A Tall Tales from the Hills Novel: Book 1
Mystery
Date Published: November 7, 2019
Publisher: Jan-Carol Publishing, Inc.
Set in Southwest Virginia and inspired by actual events and the story of the small town's most revered doctor, who may just be a serial killer. A local police officer with a tarnished reputation, a reporter who manipulated facts, and the doctor's chief intern, who may be a thief, have pieces of the puzzle. Yet no one in authority believes the great doctor could be responsible. All the while, patients are dying.
Interview with Amelia Townsend
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
The theme of the Best Doctor in Town is trust. Inspired by actual events of doctors, police officers and reporters who used and misused facts, laws and people, there are several sources. For example, doctors who inspired this story are Michael Swango and Harold Shipman. Their stories are well-documented in the news media. The list of cops who have been less than honorable goes on forever and journalists lke Janet Cooke and Stephen Glass made the profession a joke. One of the novels that inspired me was “Devil in White City”, the story of H.H. Holmes.
Back in the early 2000’s, my late writing partner, Dink Shackleford and I were discussing the need for better medical care in our beloved Southwest Virginia. Once the place for world-class and readily available medical care, the area now had almost none available. A few small hospitals did their best and the ”Health Wagon” a free community-based traveling clinic featured on “60 Minutes” provides heroic care to people in the mountains. But Dink and I wanted to explore the need for more among a very proud and hard-working population. Dink did not live long enough to see our idea turned into a story. He died of cancer in 2007. I felt on a mission to write the novel and needed a good actual event or two to set it into believability. Then along came the stories of bad doctors, corrupt cops and unethical reporters. As a former journalist, I had a story in which none one is really good or honorable – except perhaps the victims.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
Bring insight and understanding to the need for better medical care in Southwest Virginia through the telling of a compelling mystery in which no one character was obviously a villain or a victim
Create well-rounded characters that the audience would care about and be empathetic toward – no matter whether they were demons or darlings.
This book was first a very successful play. I knew the goals had been achieved when audience members literally gasped when Ira West – well. You’ll have to read the book to find out why.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
a) My goals were to:
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
a) To my readers and fan, I am constantly humbled and speechless by your support and your conversations. I love it when you write or email through the Facebook page or website. It’s fascinating to learn why you chose my work and hear your connection to the region or the material. Please keep writing, emailing and reading. I would love to do even a virtual book club talk with you or your groups.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
a) Conducting the interviews with real doctors, nurses, reporters and police officers and the patients. They were so earnest, so honest and so generous.
The next book is called “The Black Chamber.” It is a historical war mystery story, set in both New York City (Circa 1781-83) and Rye Cove, Virginia (Circa 1861-1870). The story is set in facts but combines the facts to solve two mysteries actually happened 80 years apart.
FACT: In 1939, a historian working on the history of Oyster Bay, New York found a truck in the attic of the Townsend family home. Inside were journals and documents dating to the Revolutionary War. Among them were the private journals of Townsend ancestor, Robert Townsend. After authentication, everyone learned to their surprise that Townsend had been one of Washington’s original spies – known as Samuel Culpeper, Jr. Oddly enough, Townsend seemed to know things before they happened and often was accompanied by a dark-haired young woman with a funny accent. Was she the spy who has never been identified to this day?
FACT: in 1902, a Virginia veteran applied for a pension for her service in the Civil War. That’s right -- HER. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth Blevins of Rye Cove, Virginia publicly admitted she was one of the 1,000 women who served in the War.
FACT: For long periods after the Revolutionary War, Townsend disappeared from his family home. Then one day he showed up at home with a raven-haired toddler boy with crystal blue eyes – just like his.
FACT: Elizabeth Blevins was known to disappear for long periods – even before the war. Her husband, William had helped her fix up a little place in one of the caves that dotted Natural Tunnel in Rye Cove. When her beloved husband William signed up as a conscripted soldier and joined the Virginia State Line, Betty always believed he would come home. But then, he vanished. Trying to earn enough from the conscript pay to save their farm, Betty put on the uniform she had just sewn and joined the service.
After the War, Betty brought a strange young man to meet her father. Tall, dark haired and with crystal blue eyes, Robert Townsend said he had been a soldier alongside Betty’s Will. Soon, Betty and Robert and had a son. But they would disappear for long periods of time.
What happened and how did these two people meet –and what happened next?
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Most of my life. I wrote stories as a kid, I wrote about my dog and the pet duck that followed the hunting dogs.
How long have you been writing?
In The Best Doctor in Town, the main characters are
Dr. Nicholas Oxenbriggs, whom the townspeople lovingly call Doc Briggs—celebrated US Army doctor who has come to the mountain town of Big Stone Gap, VA to set up better medical care – including free clinics where his reputation attracts the best residents who he entices to stay on after they finishing medical school. He loves his patients to death.
Will Hutton- straight-as-an-arrow editor of the Big Stone Gap Daily Press newspaper.
Dr. Ash McKay – chief medical resident who idolizes Doc Briggs, but may be stealing jewelry from dead patients and maybe he has a suspicion that no one will believe.
Tierney Baynes- disgraced reporter from the Knoxville Times News who has been fired and comes home to a job writing obituaries at the Big Stone Gap Daily Press. Full of conspiracy theories and given to rash actions, Tierney believes people are being murdered at the Lonesome Pine Hospital.
Eliot West: the former Knoxville cop who was caught stealing evidence from drug cases, selling it back to the thieves then arresting them again. He’s come home to Big Stone Gap and a job as a police officer – whose role is to patrol the parks and be the school crossing guard. He hates Tierney Baynes who exposed his crimes in Knoxville then inflated the numbers of drugs he stole and resold. Eliot is worried about his father, whose health seems to deteriorate more each time he goes to the Lonesome Pine Hospital.
Emily Scott – straight laced reporter for the Big Stone Gap Daily News who just wants to deal in the facts.
Ira West- jovial, fun-loving father of Eliot West who doesn’t believe he’s very sick or in any danger.
Etta West- brave, loving mother of Eliot West and devoted wife of Ira. She trusts Doc Briggs and would do anything to see her husband healthy.
The High Sheriff- bellicose, feared and respected chief law officer of Big Stone Gap. The sheriff gave Eliot West a change but has no sympathies for his situation. The sheriff runs his own illegal games but keeps a tight rein on the community.
Barbara Patton – prominent citizen, wife of the publisher of the Kingsport newspaper. It is the theft of a broach belonging to Patton’s mother that is the catalyst for solving the mystery.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Best Doctor in Town?
If you could spend the day with one of the characters from The Best Doctor in Town who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
The character I would choose to hang out with would be the High Sheriff. He is more than he seems on the surface. He runs illegal gambling, sells untaxed liquor and has a piece of all the action in town. I would learn his secrets and have fodder for many more stories to come. In addition, what blackmail material I’d have on some seemingly good citizens.
About the Author
Shadowed and protected by the mountains of her native southwest Virginia, Amelia Townsend has lived hither, thither, and yon – mostly between Virginia and North Carolina. She has worked as a newspaper and TV reporter, freelance producer and director, writer, and now PR hack. She is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She has no claim to fame. Further, she is most often bewildered when people say they are impressed by her work. Her first novel, Keepsakes for the Heart, was nominated by the N.C. Historical Association for the prestigious Ragan Old North State Award for non-fiction.
Her favorite avocation is listening to and writing down other people’s stories, for truth surely is stranger and more beautiful than fiction. This is where Townsend has found fodder for the stories of the hills that she wrote with her late writing buddy. Several have come to life in the form of a novel and a couple of plays in production. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.
Townsend’s most impressive accomplishments are her children – a son and daughter – who managed to turn in to fine young adults, despite her attempts to raise them.
Contact Links
Twitter: @townsendart
Instagram: @ameliatownsendauthor
Purchase Links
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