“Write the book you always wanted to read.”
That was the best piece of advice I was ever given, as each of my books has since grown out of my curiosity for my subject, from antique restoration and home improvement to the Arts and Crafts movement and the historic Grove Park Inn.
As a former English teacher, I was already familiar with Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald when I moved to Asheville, NC in 1988. I was then writing books and magazine columns about the American Arts and Crafts movement and the 1913 Grove Park Inn, which had been designed in the Arts and Crafts style and furnished with Roycroft oak furniture and hammered copper lighting.
As I did, I began collecting information about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s time spent in rooms 441 and 443 during 1935-1937, as well as his adventures in nearby Hendersonville, Tryon, and Lake Lure. Along the way I discovered that Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald had also lived here for several years of her tragic life, and that both had a connection with Asheville’s famous son Thomas Wolfe.
When I couldn’t find a book that detailed where they had each stayed and what had happened to them here, I took that advice and wrote the book I always wanted to read.
**New Book**
Angels On The Mountain
A fresh historical drama from the author of Tom, Scott & Zelda: Following In Their Footsteps…
Written as a play, the drama reveals and explores the emotional depth of Thomas Wolfe’s family — and imagines a meeting with Wolfe and his friend F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Released: May 24th, 2021.
Suggested Retail: $12.00
First edition, second printing.
Each copy is personally autographed by the author. Special gift inscriptions can also be made.
Call our office number below to purchase a copy of “Angels On the Mountain.”
(828) 628-1915
A biographical walking and driving guide covering the time Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald spent in Asheville, Hendersonville, Tryon, and Lake Lure during the 1930s and 1940s. It also highlights and explores the architectural landmarks they frequented: the historic Grove Park Inn, the Thomas Wolfe home, Asheville’s Pack Square, and Riverside Cemetery, as well as Hendersonville’s famed marble angel, plus the towns of Tryon and Lake Lure, which the three iconic and tragic authors visited.
Released: February 1, 2019.
Suggested Retail: $19.95
First edition, first printing.
Softcover. Indexed.
172 pages with 68 photographs.
Two maps and three timelines.
ISBN: 978-1-5323-9818-6
Each copy is personally autographed by the author. Special gift inscriptions can also be made.
1 Book $19.95 @ $3.05 Shipping $23.00 Total
2 Books $17.95 @ $3.10 Shipping $39.00 Total
Bookseller Discounts:
5 Books $14.00 @ $5 Shipping $75.00 Total (Retail Value $99.75)
10 Books $12.00 @ Free Shipping $120.00 Total (Retail Value $199.50)
Ordering Options
By credit card over the phone: simply call our office at (828) 628-1915 (M-F, 10:00am-5:00pm EST).
By check: Please make your check out to Bruce Johnson, and mail it to:
Bruce Johnson
25 Upper Brush Creek Road
Fletcher, NC 28732.
Please be sure to include your complete USPS mailing address.
Tales of the Grove Park Inn
In 1990 when the owners of the Grove Park Inn asked me to write the hardback “Built For the Ages: A History of the Grove Park Inn,” I was given a set number of pages for both the text and photographs. As the years progressed, I continued to research the history of the various celebrities who had stayed at the famous hotel: from Henry Ford and Thomas Edison to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Barack Obama, and, of course, their resident ghost: The Pink Lady. Their stories and others soon amounted to enough for a second volume, this one entitled “Tales of the Grove Park Inn.” Issued in 2013, it has become the most popular book written on the history of the 1913 Grove Park Inn. (softcover, 374 pages, $23.00 includes shipping)
Ordering Options
By credit card over the phone: simply call our office at (828) 628-1915 (M-F, 10:00am-5:00pm EST).
By check: Please make your check out to Bruce Johnson, and mail it – along with a request of which book you are ordering – to:
Bruce Johnson
25 Upper Brush Creek Road
Fletcher, NC 28732
An Unexpected Guest
Nearly every historian has at some time yearned to write a novel, in part because it gives us the freedom – to a logical degree – to invent those events and dialogue which we might not be able to document in a history book. I was no exception. On August 27, 1918, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and Thomas Edison actually did spend the night at the Grove Park Inn, making that evening the perfect backdrop for an historical novel swirling around the Inn’s resident ghost, The Pink Lady, aptly named for her flowing pink gown. It’s a murder mystery story sure to delight anyone who enjoys historical novels. (softcover, 296 pages, $23.00 includes shipping)
Ordering Options
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