By Bonita Wilborn
Sand Mountain author Neal Wooten has been writing for the Mountain Valley News (MVN) for 15 years. He has also been writing novels for at least that long. His latest book, With the Devil’s Help, a memoir about growing up in the Blake Community on Sand Mountain, is represented by a major New York City literary agent, published by Pegasus Crime, and distributed by Simon & Schuster.
In honor of our long-time columnist, Neal Wooten, and to help launch With the Devil’s Help, MVN is hosting a “Meet the Author” event on Saturday, September 10, 2022, from 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM (before the Alabama game) here at our office located at 450 Main Street W, in Rainsville. We will have free biscuits and coffee available for the first 50 attendees. Weather permitting, we will be set up in the parking lot, so stop by to see us and Meet the Author.
Neal Wooten will be here signing copies of his new book, With the Devil’s Help: A True Story of Poverty, Mental Illness, and Murder. This novel is a true-crime memoir set on Sand Mountain. It is Neal’s first non-fiction book and his first book represented by a major NYC literary agent.
The prestigious Kirkus Reviews said, “Stand-up comic and writer Wooten turned in an earnest, sometimes sorrowful account of his upbringing in the poorest part of northeast Alabama…A Drive-By Truckers album of a book, sometimes appalling, always heartfelt, and vividly observed.”
Best-selling author William Dameron stated, “I devoured this book. It is engrossing, relatable, intriguing, heartbreaking, and so well written. I could visualize it, and that is not something that every writer can convey. The author took a brutal childhood and somehow turned it into a story filled with heart. The way he intertwined the two storylines was masterful.”
Neal’s book was released from the New York publisher on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, so MVN’s event will be your first opportunity to get a copy of the book locally. It has been available online (pending Tuesday’s release); however, it has not been available in stores until now. The e-book and audiobook are also available on Amazon.
Other local upcoming signing events include an event on Saturday, September 17, 2022, from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, sponsored by the DeKalb County Public Library, inside the Coal & Iron Building for Boom Days in Fort Payne. A week later, he will be at the Blake Community Center on Sunday, September 25, 2022, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.