The Alabama Writers’ Forum
The Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, works to cultivate our state’s literary culture. We do that through supporting writers at all stages. We encourage our young writers to find their creative voice through the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!–and through our Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards. We support the work of our state’s literary community through our Alabama Authors Directory, First Draft magazine, and other programming and opportunities for writers across the state. And we celebrate our state’s rich literary legacy through the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. We are, above all, a community of writers united by our desire to advance the literary arts in Alabama. If that describes you — join us! There are many ways to get involved.
Welcome to Sand Mountain
Welcome to Sand Mountain By David Hammond Solstice Publishing, 2024 Paperback: $22.00 Genre: Science Fiction Reviewed by Edward Journey The first thing you should know is that Fyffe, Alabama, atop Sand Mountain, was the site of more than fifty possible UFO sightings over two days in February 1989. Pilgrims interested in “Unexplained Aerial Phenomena” (UAPs), the newest name for UFOs, still arrive in the town on the anniversaries in hopes of seeing something. This is the factual context for a new novel, Welcome to Sand Mountain, by David Hammond. Hammond has assembled a spicy mix of characters representing the extremes of redneckery, cultism, snake-handling holy rollers, small-town pols, federal law enforcement, and robotic yellowjackets. The calm center of this mix is Sheriff J.T. McLemore and his salt-of-the-Earth family. McLemore is dealing with the convergence of these characters in Fyffe for the 30th UFO anniversary, as well as the advent of a 500-year winter blizzard. The sheriff has an itch he cannot explain. Or, perhaps he can, but prefers not to. Welcome to Sand Mountain starts slowly [...]
