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-She says yoga saved her life.

She's worked in the insurance business and is a third-generation teacher.

Coming up next on Tennessee Writes, we sit down with Trenton author Nancy Hall, a Master Gardener yoga enthusiast who works out of a renovated grain bin she calls the Diva Den.

We'll find out about her mystery book, Burn Bright,.. -Books about Tennessee.

-Books that come from Tennessee authors.

-Books and stories with a Tennessee twist.

-West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee Writes.

-Welcome to this edition of Tennessee Writes.

I'm Peter Noll.

It's time to jump into the world of Tennessee bo..

Grab a cup of coffee, your favorite comfy chair, as we sit down with local authors with a Tennessee connection.

Some call Tennessee home.

Others have written books with a Tennessee twist.

Today, Tennessee Writes welcomes author Nancy Hall.

Born and raised in Trenton, she's a registered yoga instructor, helped establish the Fred Kulp Historical Museum, and has written two books.

Please welcome Nancy Hall.

-Hello.

-Welcome to Tennessee Writes, Nancy.

-Thank you.

Thank you so much.

-We're so glad you could join us today.

Nancy, tell us, you were born and raised in Trenton your whole life, but the thing that sticks out is how yoga saved your life.

-I know.

A lot of people have asked me about that.

I think I said somewhere that yoga had actually saved my life twice.

The only thing I tell about it is this.

The first time was a physical problem.

You remember when they had telephones with cords on them?

I was working in the insurance business, and I was constantly cradling that phone there, typing, doing whatever, and I got a really terribly stiff neck.

I, just on a whim, came over to Jackson to start taking yoga and just fell in love with..

It cured that physical part.

Years later, the deeper I got into yoga and the more I studied t.. and everything in it, the inner work was what I was referring to.

That saved my life again.

That's how it saved my life twice, and I expect it to go on doing that.

-You've been a teacher, insurance business, now yoga instructor.

You've been instrumental in many community events, including starting the museum at the Trenton Courthouse.

What's been your favorite?

-It's hard to say because it represents different periods of your life.

Sometimes when you're raising your children, your family life, that's really the most important thing at the time.

Then as things change, the children grow up, and you seek different avenues, then those become the best part of my life too.

Right now I'm saying that what I'm doing now is the best part of my life.

That could change.

-I do want to give the viewers a little heads.. to our board of directors, Vice President Bob Moore, who told us about Nancy.

Nancy was actually Bob's teacher.

What grade?

-It was high school.

-High school.

What did you teach Bob?

-I think I taught him sophomore English.

Now, if Bob were sitting here, I could tell you how smart he was and how brilliant he was and all the interaction in the class and all, but I can't really remember what subject it was I was trying to teach him.

I can't remember exactly.

-For everything that you've done, you have been in Trenton your whole life.

What is it?

What holds you to Trenton?

-I don't know.

My husband is from Trenton too.

It is a small town, but knowing who your neighbors are really struck home with us.

We went to school at UTM, and when we both finished our degrees there, we moved back to Trenton.

Part of the lure was that our families were there, and as we got older, we realized how nice it was to live in a community like that.

-It has the most beautiful courthouse- -Absolutely.

--and of course, the Teapot Festival.

-Yes.

-How can we forget that.

Your journey to becoming an author, how did that work, and did you ever think that, "I'm going to be the author of two books?"

-No.

Of course, I was an English major, and the writing part is a part of being an English teacher, of course.

I would write things from time to time.

Back then, journaling was not that big a deal, but I would write things.

I would write short stories and things like that.

I did reviews of the local community theater.

I would do reviews.

People would say to me, "Oh, you ought to write a book."

You hear that all the time, "You ought to write a book."

Until other things happened in my life that I could ease back a little bit, I didn't really start to think about writing a whole book.

Several things happened that I came to that point where I thought, "If I'm going to do it, I better do it."

-What is the process of renovating a grain bin?

-First you have to have a grain bin.

-Did you have to go out and buy it, or did you have it on the property?

-No.

We lived next to where my husband grew up.

He actually, when he was 15 years old, moved that grain bin behind what would be our house later.

The farm is behind us.

There was a fence row behind our house.

I didn't really pay that much attention to it.

It was just there.

We cleared some of the land, and it was very stark.

I was looking at it a lot more.

I had been talking about, "I'd like to do something with that sometime."

Finally, again, we decided, "Well, if I'm going to do it, we better do it."

My husband went into the local service station there, West End.

There were a bunch of guys sitting around.

They said, "Hall, what are you doing today?"

He said, "My wife wants somebody to renovate her grain bin."

I swear this is the truth, Bubba said, "I've always wanted to do that," and Bubba did it.

-Wow.

-Yes.

It's pretty amazing.

-Maybe you can send us some photos.

-I will.

-We'll have to come and visit it sometime.

-I want you to.

-What do you do at the grain bin now?

-When we finished it, they put in a floor in it so that I could do yoga up there, practice myself, and then have small classes.

We also have a deck that goes around part of it.

I used to teach yoga at the Y.

Then I began teaching at home, and teaching outdoor yoga there on the deck and inside.

Now it's progressed to private lessons mainly.

Then downstairs is where I do my writing.

A lot of the writing occurs there.

-This is the book that you wrote there.

-Yes, it is.

[music] -Nancy, tell us about Burn Bright.

People that have not read the book or read the little intro online, tell the viewers, what it's about.

-First of all, it's a second book.

-In the Tilted series, correct?

-Right.

The first book was titled Tilted.

When I finished it, I never intended to make it into a series.

As a matter of fact, I tell people who-- book clubs in different places where I am, I actually considered killing the main character at the end of Tilted because I had told her story.

I thought, "Okay, this is what I set out to do.

I've told her story."

That first book, just as this one, was in her voice.

It was in first person.

It just blew my mind to have to come up with, "Oh, no, if I kill her off, who's going to talk?

Who's going to tell the rest of the story?"

I let her live.

As I would talk to people at book clubs about the story, and the characters and everything, so many of them would say, "Oh, we want to know what happened to so-and-so.

We want to know what happened to Edna Love.

We want to know."

I did want to write another book, but I didn't know exactly which direction I was going to take, so I began then to think about writing a sequel to it.

It's entitled Burn Bright.

Of course, and you can-- I wanted to be sure and show you the cover is by Wanda Stanfield who is an artist here in Jackson.

She does a lot of book covers.

I was really, really pleased.

-It's beautiful.

-I think it is too.

It says a lot.

I took the situation and moved it up a few years and began writing with the idea of telling a story about one of the main characters in the first book, who's Edna Love.

The hardest thing about it was I didn't want to tell a lot about the first book.

I wanted it to be a standalone book too .. -That's what I was going to ask you.

Sometimes in series, I'm like, "That book looks interesting," or like, "Oh, it's number 3 or number 10."

-Exactly.

-Then I have to go back.

You can just get this one without having Tilted.

-Yes.

That's what I was working towards and that was hard at first because I had to pick up some loose ends from the first book but I didn't want to retell it.

I hate that.

That's boring to have to retell that.

I've also found that with a lot of my readers, when this book came out which it came out four years later, I think it was, so many of them said, "Oh, I'm going to read Tilted again just to get me back in the mood.

I'm going to read Tilted again before I read this one," which made me feel good.

It made me feel good to know that they were looking at it again.

-I just had deja vu, John Grisham came out with a new book, I think called The Exchange, but it's the characters from the firm, which I was way back in college.

-A long time ago.

-I'm like, "I'm not going to watch the Tom Cruise movie.

I'm going to read the book," which I originally did because I wanted just have all that fresh in my mind.

-I know.

That's exciting.

-You authors must .. -Maybe so.

[laughs] -It's really a mystery.

-Yes, it is.

-It's a little dark.

-Yes, it's much darker than my first one was, I think.

I think it was.

-Why do you say that?

-I felt more of a freedom when I was writing it.

I didn't worry about what anybody was going to think about it because I felt that I had done a good job with the first one, and I knew that I had a great editor to help me with editing and everything.

A lot of those qualms were quieted for me.

I felt a little bit freer, I think, to go to the dark side a bit.

-Are there experiences around Trenton and Gibson County that influenced- -Here's the tale.

--the Tilted and Burnt Bright?

-Are you ready?

-I'm ready.

-Every time I see someone from my hometown of Trenton, and they've read the book, or they've heard that I wrote a book-- At my first book signing, I got this question, and thank goodness I came up with the right answer.

They said, "Am I in your book?"

I said, "You are if you want to be."

Isn't that pretty safe?

Nearly everyone-- Not nearly everyone but several people have said, "I know that that character-- That's my cousin, isn't it?"

or, "That sounds just like my mother-in-law."

I just ease back with it a little bit, and say, "I don't know if-- It's not really that person."

I finally have said, and which is true, some of them are composites of people that I've known a bit here and a bit there.

The characters, to me, that's what makes any good story is the characters.

That's what you care about.

There are some situations in this one that have some familiarity with people who have lived in Trenton, but I never say, "Oh yes, that's it.

This is fiction."

I keep saying, "Hey, this is fiction."

[laughs] [music] -Nancy, we've come to the part in Tennessee Writes that we like to call the lightning round.

We ask the authors quick book-related questions and we see how many you can answer in two minutes.

-Okay.

-If you don't have an answer just say pass and we'll move on to the next question.

Favorite book you read for fun during high school?

-To Kill a Mockingbird.

-Name the book you think everyone should read.

-A Prayer for Owen Meany.

-What celebrity would you like most to co-author a book with?

-Ann Patchett.

-Who did you give your first published copy of your book to?

-I don't know.

Pass.

-Name a fellow author you would like to go on a book tour with.

-John Grisham.

-Whose autobiography is your all-time favorite?

-Pass.

-Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?

-Fiction.

-What's the last audiobook you listened to?

-Pass.

-Most guilty pleasure book you've ever read?

-Oh, it's one of those bodice rippers but I can't think of the name of it.

-Least favorite place to read a book?

-A grocery store.

-Your favorite place to read a book?

-My front porch.

-How many hours a week on average do you spend time reading?

-Oh my Lord.

10.

-What's your favorite movie based on the book?

-Pass.

-Do you own more paperback books or hardcover books?

-Hardcover.

-What book took you the longest time to finish reading?

-The Count of Monte Cristo.

-How long did it take you?

-Years.

-How many books are on your nightstand right now?

-Probably four.

-Name an author you most admire.

-I admire [?]

-What author living or dead would you most like to have dinner with?

-Colson Whitehead.

-We'll give it to her.

[music] -Nancy, would you mind reading an excerpt from your book?

-Oh, I'd love to.

-Burn Bright.

-I'd love to.

-Here's Nancy Hall reading from her book, Burn Bright.

-Madame's moonflowers snaked all over Paradise Alley.

They knew the best place to survive.

The fragrant white flowers never open until darkness falls.

The dark brings them to life.

A few could be spotted in other places like the rain spout in the alley by Mr. Harwood's office.

A tiny one inched its way up the charred post by the oasis.

A bank of them grew in the darkness under the platform of the train depot, but the biggest show of moonflowers was still Paradise Alley.

If only the feel of Paradise Alley could wind its way through our little town like the moonflowers.

There's a feeling of protection there that springs from the darkness.

Those hidden places that offer acceptance and refuge.

In Paradise Alley, you can find good and evil, courage and fear, strength and weakness.

They exist side by side.

After all, we cannot have one without the other.

Maybe we could sweeten the air with that magic like Madame's moonflowers.

It would float into our bedrooms, underneath the basement windows, down forgotten chimneys, and over the courthouse tower like a layer of moon dust.

Perhaps then, we might see things differently.

We might learn to balance our lives the best we can, wherever our Paradise Alley may be.

Who knows?

Strangers come and go.

Some stay, but others leave and never come back, but this we do know.

We all need a connection.

Everyone needs a reason to get up every day.

A place that feels comfortable.

For some, maybe the Bluebird Cafe offers that comfort.

When you look up at the courthouse clock, when a kid takes hold of your hand, or when the town dog, Henry Malone, guards the town, we must remember we are in this together.

[music] -Thank you for that reading.

Beautiful.

If people want to purchase Burn Bright or Tilted, where do you recommend they go?

-I recommend that they go to my website.

I have a website, Nancy F. Hall Author, and you can ask for it there, and it comes direct to me.

That way, if they wanted me to sign the book or something, then I have direct there.

Of course, it's on Amazon.

Then it's also available at other bookstores, Barnes & Noble's, things like that.

You can go in and ask for it, because it's published, actually-- The publishing company and the printing company is Ingram Book Company.

They are in all the public libraries and in many, many bookstores.

You could go to a bookstore, but I really would like for you to come to my website.

-Are you active on social media?

What are those-- -Yes.

I have a Facebook page.

I have Instagram.

Look for me as Nancy F. Hall Author, or my given name, Nancy Fortner Hall.

You can keep up with me there.

I also have a newsletter, too, that you can subscribe to.

-That gets emailed out?

-Yes.

-You can sign up on your website.

-Yes.

Website or my Facebook page.

Either one.

-What's coming up next?

Are you working on another book?

-I am.

-Is it in the series?

-Yes.

It's the third book.

I'm still very general, writing, writing, writing, keeping everything that I write, and waiting for some ideas to simmer and cook a little bit more to see if I'm going to use them or not.

That's where I am.

-Now, any of these books being turned into movies or.. -I wish.

[laughs] Not yet, we'll say.

-This looks like it'd be a great movie to do.

I know John Grisham gave an interview, you mentioned his name, about why they're not really making those type of movies as much as they used to.

It's just like they need a Sherbet.

-Exactly.

Oh, always.

-They need a big blockbuster sequel or a superhero..

These are the stories that we really love reading.

-Yes, I think so.

-Sadly, we've come to the end of this edition of Tennessee Writes, and we do want to thank you, Nancy Hall.

Burn Bright, Trenton made up, part of the Tilted series.

Go to her website if you want to buy it.

Thank you for coming on and sharing about the book and about all your experiences and about your journey to becoming an author.

-Thank you.

My pleasure.

-Before you leave, would you do us a favor?

Would you sign your book to the station?

-Oh, of course.

I'd love to.

-Thank you.

[music] -For Channel 11, thanks so much for the opportunity.

[music] -For comments about today's show or to suggest a Tennessee author for a future program, email us at tennesseewrites@westtnpbs.org.

Tennessee Writes, on air and streaming now.

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