Craig Caudill

Skinner Alive!: Appalachian Tales from Kentucky Craig Caudill

Why is Brock Skinner always finding problems in the Eastern Kentucky Appalachian town of Hazard? Brock became wealthy by the age of thirty. He doesn't have to work anymore, and tries to stay out of trouble. His wife, Maude, owns and runs the most beautiful winery in Eastern Kentucky. She learned quickly he had a penchant for finding mischief that no one else suspected. Sheriff Nathan Connors claims there wouldn't be any crime in Perry County if Brock would only move away from Hazard. Appalachian life is on full display in these police procedurals.




The Gregorian calendar, used by North Americans since the sixteenth century, has been viewed by superstitious Appalachians as a journey through weather patterns, mimicking the various stages of human life. The average person, by the grace of God, who survived the gauntlet of immeasurable mortal afflictions, hoped to live in the mountains until the ripe old age of ninety-six, which in terms of the calendar, meant each month represented about eight years of existence. Many hardy souls were still taking nourishment at ninety, but making it past ninety-six was considered a daunting task.