The other side of the Ozarks

Let’s say you like a book’s cover and title. What’s the next thing you look at?

Most people flip the book over and read the description on the back cover. (Yeah, yeah, “click on the Amazon listing.” But you get what I mean.)

Not every book is for every reader. The description is the closest thing to asking the author, “Why is this book worth my time?”

I’d like to share with you my answer for my upcoming book.

Welcome to Eureka Springs

The I-Sh*t-You-Not History of America’s Quirkiest Town

America’s Ozarks are known for natural beauty and Bible Belt conservativism. But the hill country has another side: a live-and-let-live spirit that celebrates creativity and big personality.

The undisputed capital of this other side of the Ozarks is the resort town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where you can stroll past a drag queen, a heavily tattooed biker, and a smiling suburbanite tourist in the same ten-yard stretch of uneven pavement.

Millions of visitors know Eureka Springs as a charming Victorian village, but far fewer are familiar with the colorful characters striding its too-crazy-to-make-up history.

These are their stories: Chief Black Dog, the James Gang, silent film stars, Chicago mobsters, a con artist with a body count, Willie Nelson, a biker hippie mayor — not to mention Bigfoot and a haunted inn’s worth of ghosts.

Join with me as we meet the misfits who shaped America’s quirkiest town!