The unspoiled, wooded landscape of the Arkansas Ozarks is steeped in traditions, where legend and myth are a huge part of history. During the Civil War, when Maranda Simmons boldly retrieved her stolen horses from a Union camp, soldiers believed she was a haint. When a cast-iron stove fell on Grace Sollis’s baby, she gained superhuman strength, picked up the stove to free the baby and then ran circles around the log cabin until she came to her senses. After patiently waiting years for her promised dream house, Elise Quigley and her five children tore down their three-room shack and moved into the chicken house after Mr. Quigley left for work. Join author Cynthia Carroll, a descendant of six generations of Ozark natives, as she details the legends and lore of the Arkansas Ozarks.
Cynthia McRoy Carroll is a self-confessed dreamer who spends more time inside her own head than not. Her Ozark ancestors settled in Madison County, Missouri, in the early 1800s and were among the first to privately own Ozark land. Cynthia is an honors graduate of Lone Star College and attended the Glassell School of Art. She spent six years as tour and docent program coordinator for the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. She began writing later in life and soon won eight writing awards with the Writers of the Woodlands group, four of which were first place. She lives in central-coastal Texas with her husband, Jim Carroll, a musician, songwriter and retired licensed professional counselor. They have one son and two grandchildren.