Lots of positive response and feedback Monday from the opening article by Emily Amber Stansberry, a writer whose work now appears on Blue Ridge Muse.

“Incredible talent and a writer with a fresh and appealing style,” said a post on Facebook.

“Such an amazing person,” said another.  “You’ve got a great addition to your team.”

She makes Blue Ridge Muse a team.  It’s been a one-man operation for 12 years now, a singular operation for far too long.

“Great move,” said an email.  “How on earth did you find her?”

I can’t take any credit for finding Emily.  She found me.  An email asked if I would consider her writing for Muse. A meeting over coffee at Blackwater Loft and a review of her writing was all it took to show that her talent could contribute to our product.

As noted in a short note at the end of her first article on Monday, Emily Amber Stansberry grew up an “Army brat,” a daughter of a soldier (and minister) who lived all over the world, which gave her lots of material and perspective to observe and write.

She and her husband first lived in an apartment at the Station on South Locust Street when coming to Floyd and then bought a house near Franklin Pike, not far from The Blue Ridge Parkway.  He’s an air traffic controller.  She began teaching English at Floyd County High School and became a popular figure among students and residents of the county.

She fought, and survived, a deadly disease.  She has faced life with a positive attitude. She’s written articles for The Floyd Press. Her own blog, Purple is The Color of Healing, tells her more about her than I can adequately report here.

Emily left teaching after the current school year, in part to concentrate on writing.   She is now a regular and featured contributor to Blue Ridge Muse.

Muse started as a blog in 2004 when Amy and I left the Washington, DC, area and bought a house in Floyd.  For me, was a homecoming of sorts.  I spent my high school years in Floyd County before leaving in 1965 to join the staff of The Roanoke Times and then moved on to Illinois for 12 years and then to Washington.

Like Emily, Amy and I have spent time in different locations and various parts of the world.  My first impression of Emily at our first meeting was, “wow, I love the way her mind works.”

She sees our community with an inquiring mind and a perspective that a varied background provides.  She will write about a Floyd County from ways that will educate all of us.

Welcome, Emily, to Blue Ridge Muse.  We, and Floyd County, are lucky to have you.