Nancy Purcell - Monday, December 6th, 2021

This was Nancy's favorite photo of herself and it was taken by my husband, Barry Beall at an NCWN-West event

 It is with great sadness tonight that I learned of the passing of Nancy Purcell, writer, teacher, and friend. Nancy served as Netwest representative for Transylvania County, NC for a number of years. She led writing groups for NCWN-West and then while teaching writing classes at Brevard College, she led another writing group for her students. 

I always enjoyed our phone calls. She was a generous writer, always helping others but also encouraging others including me. 

These are some of the words in her obituary.

"Following in the footsteps of her idol, Georgia O'Keeffe, fairly late in life Nancy began writing short stories and poems. Many of her stories were published in well-known literary journals. She honed her writing skills when she was accepted to the Iowa Writers' Institute Summer Program. She also served as Prose Judge at Carl Sandburg Home Writer in Residence Program, taught writing classes at Brevard College, and led a writer’s group for many years. Nancy loved to laugh and entertain friends and family with stories of her life and experiences."

I was honored when Nancy sent me copies of her short stories and happy for her when her work was published. She knew sorrow and loss and had great empathy for me when I endured the loss of loved ones. Read the comments on her obituary and you can see that she was well-loved.

We have lost a dedicated member of our writing community.

 https://www.moodyconnollyfuneralhome.com/memorials/nancy-purcell/4797546/obituary.php

A memorial service will be held at 11 AM Saturday, February 12, 2022 in the Moody-Connolly Funeral Home Chapel. To livestream her service please go to https://foveo.stream/moody-connolly/nancy-lou-purcell

 In lieu of flowers, donations in Nancy's name may be made to the charity of your choice.

Read more about Nancy here.   and here.

Nancy said this about NCWN-West:

You and the entire membership of Netwest have been an inspiration to me in my writing life. The group is a welcoming & encouraging gathering of like-people. Thank you for all you've done for others. It does not go unnoticed.

Nancy Purcell

 

Tennessee Member, Michael Cody

The NCWN-West program includes writers in eastern Tennessee. Michael Amos Cody, a native of North Carolina, is a member of NCWN and lives and works in Johnson City, TN. He contacted us about his membership. Michael has a new book out and it looks interesting published by Pisquah Press. 

He lives with his wife Leesa in Tennessee and teaches in the Department of Literature and Language at East Tennessee State University.
Email Michael and welcome him to NCWN-West.

My new collection of short fiction--A Twilight Reel: Stories--is coming out this week (scheduled to be featured on NCWN Book Buzz on June 21). The stories are all set in the historical-fictional town of Runion, NC. This community existed on the French Broad River between Marshall and Hot Springs back in the early 20th century. I've recreated it as the setting for most of my fiction.

Learn more about Michael Cody here.

Michael Amos Cody      PO Box 70279     Johnson City, TN 37614

(423) 747-3460

michaelamoscody@gmail.com