HI EVERYONE!

This is my introductory post, and I’m excited to see it go live. I’ve heard great things about the Steemit Platform, and look forward to meeting many people here. I’m very active on social media so the whole idea of this online community intrigues me.

If you’d like to know more, click the website link below and go to the “About” page. There you’ll find links to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter. My given name is Rhonda, but I’ve published under the pen name “Diane Ryan.” I will answer to either. The pen name is not an attempt to conceal my identity. I intend to publish across diverse genres and platforms, and just as J.K. Rowling publishes her Cormoran Strike novels as Robert Galbraith so they can stand independently of her Harry Potter series, I will use different pseudonyms for a similar purpose.

http://www.authordianeryan.com

I’m an author, an animal rescuer, and advocate for animal rights and social reform in Central Appalachia. Most of the U.S. and certainly most international communities are unfamiliar with modern Appalachia, with good reason. This is a closed culture, a “keep it local” world. When people think of “hillbillies”--which is not typically a pejorative term--a lot of stereotypes come to mind. Most of those stereotypes, of course, are untrue. But Central Appalachia, which involves regions of Southwest Virginia, West Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky, is becoming branded with an unfortunate stereotype of its own. Every day I see deeper, more tragic issues develop in my own neighborhood. It’s heartbreaking and engenders a kind of frustration that words are inadequate to describe.

LOCAL BUT NOT NATIVE

I’ve lived embedded in the Southwest Virginia hills for a decade now, but I wasn’t born here. This is significant. I’ve been here long enough to write with authority about the people, customs, and issues. But I wasn’t born or raised here, so I didn’t grow up feeling pressured to show only the finished side of the quilt. I believe that problems in the stitching underneath should be exposed and dealt with, never hidden.

That kind of thinking is not popular in Central Appalachia. Better to just not talk about a problem, especially with outsiders. God forbid any secrets get out, especially if they make us look bad. Our local animal shelter has had a kill rate of 62% in recent years. It still ranked in the Top Ten of highest kill shelters in Virginia in 2015, and even though last year (2016) the kill rate was a much improved 22%, that still means slightly more than one out of every five animals who walked through the front door were carried out the back in a black plastic garbage bag. According to those who’ve worked there, shelter administration instructs employees to refrain from telling anyone that it’s a kill shelter. Many in our community believe our local shelter is no-kill. Seems like I constantly correct that misunderstanding and spent a lot of time pointing people to the VDACS website (Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) where the truth is displayed on their online reporting page. This lack of transparency is a staple of local politics, family units, and many personal relationships for those living in this region.

BEHIND THE MOUNTAINS

What I hope to do with a series of articles is give mainstream America and the rest of the world a glimpse behind the mountains. I want to raise awareness of the social issues here, shed light on the social decay that has eroded an entire culture in Central Appalachia. As one of the characters in my latest novel says:

“All those cute little stories about Appalachian culture and fiddles and moonshine and homemade quilts—that world is gone. We lost our heritage two generations ago. These days the only tradition we pass down to our kids is dependency. We’re addicted to drugs, alcohol, welfare, and coal. Sad, but it’s the truth.”

Regrettably, this does seem to be the case. I don't have any solutions at hand, but I do have my words. And I will use them to the best of my ability to impact the world for good, and inspire positive change.