Meet Wayne Caldwell, author of ‘Cataloochee’

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Here’s Wayne Caldwell, signing a copy of his new novel – his first – called Cataloochee. It’s a mountain story, with mountain characters. It’s getting great reviews and buzz, especially for a first novel by an unknown Ashvegas author.

But it pays to have friends. Especially friends like Charles Frazier, the “other” Ashvegas author. Here’s what Wayne told me about the writing life, and his friendship with the writer of Cold Mountain, as I visited with him during a recent book-signing.

Caldwell said he’d always wanted to write, so when he turned 50 a few years back he decided he’d better get going. He wrote character sketches that became award-winning short stories. Those stories inpsired the book idea, and are now chapters in Cataloochee.

But writing’s not easy. Caldwell has a day job. He’s the business manager at Ambience Interiors on Broadway in downtown Asheville. He told me he wrote his book on nights when he could muster the energy (he’s not a morning person), and on weekends. A good night’s work, he said, was pages and pages of writing with one good paragraph that he could use.

One day, Charles Frazier walked into the store to shop. Caldwell befriended him, and said you know, i’ve got a story i’d love for you to see. Caldwell thought Frazier certainly must have been groaning inside. Frazier had sure heard that one before.

But Frazier read what Caldwell gave him and must have liked it, because Frazier hooked Caldwell up with his own agent. Cataloochee has the powerhouse publisher Random House behind it. Caldwell hemmed and hawed a little when somebody asked him how his book sales were going, but his cohort who was selling his books and taking money said sales were great.

I liked Caldwell, and his personal story inspired me. If you want to meet him and have him sign a book, you can catch him at Malaprop’s on June 23.