Diane C. McPhail is the author of the novel, Follow the Stars Home (Kensington Books), a fictional re-telling of one of the great steamboat adventure stories of all time.

On October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt—daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol—fearlessly boarded the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, she is fiercely independent despite her youth.

She’s also accustomed to defying convention.

Against her father’s wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt—builder of the New Orleans—and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher.

If Nicholas’s untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will prove the power of steam, revolutionize travel and trade, and open the west to expansion, thus securing the Roosevelts’ future.

Diane C. McPhail is an artist, minister, and author of the previous novels, The Abolitionist’s Daughter, and The Seamstress of New Orleans.

A graduate of Ole Miss, Duke Writers, University of Iowa Distance, and the Yale Writers’ Conference, she is a member of NC Writers Network and the Historical Novel Society.

Born in Jackson, MS, raised in the Mississippi Delta and McPhail now lives in Highlands, North Carolina with her husband and dog.

The College Choir, known as the Rust College World Renowned A’Cappella Choir, had its beginning in the early 1930’s under the directorship of Miss Natalie Doxey, a graduate of Rust College, who served as a music teacher and choir director until 1969.

Members are accepted by audition only.

The ensemble has toured five countries in Europe, South Africa, and has performed at Notre Dame in Paris, France.

The choir was recently selected to participate in the prestigious 36th Annual International Verona Competition, scheduled
to take place from March 26-30, 2025, in Verona, Italy.

The World-Renowned A ’Cappella Choir performs major works, anthems, spirituals, etc., while the Chamber Singers perform a number of works spanning a period from Madrigals to Vocal Jazz.

Feral Kytty is an electronica project from songwriter/performer Christina Horn of Knoxville, TN. Her album, Hotlights, is a pandemic collaboration with fellow producer Matt Honkonen.

Though classically trained, Horn’s music touches many genres. She also works in television and music production and is a college level educator.