“Sandra Brannan is able to take the subjects she knows and turn them into an exciting, non-stop action mystery. Liv is amazing!” Suzanne Harrouff of Franklin’s Books Unlimited said of Brannan’s Liv Bergen mystery series.

Brannan is launching Book No. 2 of the series in Franklin on Wednesday, June 1. Books Unlimited invites locals out for this event, featuring a meet and greet with the author at 5:30 p.m., a reading at 6 p.m. and signing until 7:30 p.m.

“Lot’s Return to Sodom” lets readers delve a little deeper into the dangerous yet exciting life of Liv Bergen, the Colorado mining manager turned crime solver whom author Sandra Brannan introduced in her debut novel “In the Belly of Jonah” (Sept. 1, 2010, Greenleaf). The second installment of the series brings readers on a wild ride to the infamous annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. There are gangs, there are murders … and there is most certainly the return of the admirable Agent Streeter Pierce, who saved Bergen’s life in Brannan’s debut.

On Saturday, Deal Farms held its ‘Plow Day’ event with rides and demonstrations for visitors.

Deal Farms is planning another event or two in October.

Photos by Betsey Gooder

In this photo (R), Jack Jaynes shows how fields have been plowed in Macon County for generations. The trusty two horse-power engine pulling him through the rich soil is made up of old friends, Babe and Sugar.

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Established in memory of Mary Jane Queen by The Queen Family and Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, the ongoing Mary Jane Queen Memorial Scholarship will provide $500 for deserving graduating students from rural Jackson, Macon, Haywood and Swain counties in North Carolina. An application for the scholarship is available in the high schools of these four WNC counties, and online at www.spiritofappalachia.com.

To help in providing the funds for this scholarship, a Beginner’s Quilt Basket Raffle has been assembled and is available at City Lights Bookstore, Sylva.

While a group of friends tries to bring one couple together, a nasty villain plots to drive another couple apart.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is coming to Bryson City, in Swain County. William Shakespeare’s popular comedy of misunderstandings and mistaken identity will be on the Smoky Mountain Community Theatre stage, at 7:30 p.m. from May 12 through 15.

The story focuses on the “too wise to woo peaceably” Beatrice and Benedick, both of whom swear they will never marry.