Blood Clay tells the story of Tracey Gaines, who has moved to rural Saul County, North Carolina, to escape the wreckage of a divorce and becomes a teacher at an alternative school. She devotes herself to renovating an old farmhouse but finds she can't as easily build connections in this new place. When the community splits, she finds an ally in Dave Fordham, a native son who struck out for new opportunities, only to face his own trauma and a forced return home. Elizabeth Stuckey-French says, "Val Nieman has written what is destined to become a classic novel of Southern life."
You just never know...after 25 years, my first novel will be available again as an Audible.com book and e-book. Permuted Press is re-releasing Neena Gathering, my first novel, a post-apocalyptic story set in the Appalachians.
Me? I've been a reporter, a farmer, a sailor, a teacher, and most of all, a walker and observer.
Blood Clay, my latest novel, is both a taut crime drama and an evocative portrait of the New South. I am also the author of a collection of short stories, Fidelities, and a poetry collection, Wake Wake Wake. My work has appeared in many journals including New Letters, Poetry, The Kenyon Review, Green Mountains Review, Arts & Letters, and several anthologies.
I graduated from West Virginia University and Queens University of Charlotte. After 30 years in daily journalism, I now teach writing at North Carolina A&T State University and serve as poetry editor of Prime Number magazine.
