Announcing Book Release

[Byron Ballard]

Here's the press release announcing publication of my little book! I'm about to get excited about this whole thing. 

re: a friendly and useful book from Asheville’s Byron Ballard and Silver Rings Press

Silver Rings Press, an imprint of indie publisher rENEGADE pLANETS pUBLISHING, Candler, NC, is pleased to announce the publication of “Staubs and Ditchwater: a Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo” by H. Byron Ballard.  Ballard, a popular blogger and essayist, is a western North Carolina native whose work has appeared regionally and nationally.

The book—part memoir and part instructional primer—is an entertaining introduction to southern Appalachian folk magic.

Ballard leads local and regional workshops on these traditional practices and techniques.  After much thought and conversations with a wide range of people, she decided to share some of this information from, in her words, the fading traditional cultures of the southern Highlands. She found that there is a hunger in both the dominant culture and in her spiritual community for authentic information on this subject. She did some research, talked to some home-folks and created a series of workshops based on what she’s learned and practiced over the years.  This little book—drawn from the workshop series-- gives the student a good over-view of techniques, history and a glimpse into the culture from which they all flow.

Available June 15, 2012, this book may be ordered through the author at www.myvillagewitch.com, [e-mail].

Ballard is a witty and engaging speaker, so if you’d like to book a reading with her, she’d love to discuss that, too, at [e-mail].  828.216.8961