About the Author

Sam Venable is a humorist, newspaper columnist, outdoor writer, standup comedian and author of 12 books. He has worked for the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel since 1970, after having served as a staff member of the Knoxville Journal and Chattanooga News-Free Press. Check out his website at samvenable.com. Both he and his wife, Mary Ann, are graduates of the University of Tennessee. She is a retired UT software instructor. They frequently lead Smoky Mountain Field School courses on Southern Appalachian humor, dialect and heritage. Sam and Mary Ann live in a log house atop a wooded ridge on the outskirts of Knoxville. They are the parents of two adult children and two young grandchildren.