Tim Carmichael: Life and Food in the Appalachian Mountains

Tim Carmichael Interview 4/17/26 Tim Carmichael joined Vocal in March 2025. He has written over 270 stories and published three books on cooking. He has been awarded 20 achievements on Vocal in just one year as a creator. Tim Carmichael and Vic Carmichael have been together for 21 years. Tim has also gone on 22 cruises since his retirement. https://vocal.media/authors/tim-carmichael-yzzpl0v3v

Mariann: Where are you from? Tim: I grew up in Marshall, North Carolina, in a small community called Spillcorn. It is a quiet mountain community that has shaped a lot of who I am today. My roots there are very important to me, especially because of my family and the traditions I grew up with. It is where I learned the value of home, family, and cooking from the heart.

Tim’s blog above ⬆️ Mariann: What is your favorite Genre to write about, and why? Tim: My favorite genre to write about is personal narrative and food-related storytelling. I enjoy writing about real experiences from my life, especially stories connected to my family, my upbringing in the mountains, and the recipes passed down to me. Writing in this genre allows me to combine storytelling with cooking, which makes it feel very natural and meaningful. It helps me preserve memories while also sharing a part of my culture and traditions with others.

Fun Fact: Tim Carmichael published three cook books and six other books on Amazon. Mariann: What's the best word to describe you as a writer, and why? Tim: “Adaptive.”As a writer, you can shift your tone, structure, and style depending on the audience and purpose. Mariann: What is your most proud accomplishment? Tim: My most proud accomplishment is healing from childhood abuse. It took a lot of time, self-reflection, and support, but I’ve worked hard to rebuild my sense of self and create a healthier, more stable life.

Fun Fact: Tim won 2nd place in the state of North Carolina making biscuits. He only lost first prize because they put him on gas stove and he had never cooked on one before. He was only 15 years old.

Fun Facts: He currently hiking all the trails in the Smokey Mountains, 900-mile club. Tim currently about 128 miles from completing.

Tim’s travel bucket list Fun Facts: Belize, Portugal, Azores to see the hydrangeas, and Japan. Mariann: Who is your favorite Author and why? Tim: My favorite authors are Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe. I admire Emily Dickinson for her ability to express deep emotion and complex ideas in very few words. Her poetry feels simple and profound at the same time. I also appreciate Edgar Allan Poe for his dark, atmospheric writing and his skill in creating suspense and exploring the psychological side of human nature. Mariann: What attracted you to Vocal? Tim: What attracted me to Vocal is the opportunity to share my writing with a wide audience while also being part of a community of other writers. Mariann: Describe your writing space. Tim: I have many writing spaces. I write sitting on a bench that I placed beside where my mother is buried, I write on the porch at the old homeplace, and I write when I go hiking. Mostly, I write at my desk at home, which is covered in papers and books.

This is the home of my great-grandparents. I love sitting on the porch here and writing. It's my favorite place to write. My 2nd grade teacher told me that I would be a famous poet one day. I am still waiting on that to happen. I have a poem that was selected for the Winnow Literary Publication at the end of the month. I have 2 poetry books self-published, one is called Bloodroot and Coal Dust, and the other one is Beautiful and Brutal Things. I also have three cookbooks, My Life On a Plate: A Journey Back to Spillcorn, Mountain Cookery, and A Sweet Taste of Appalachia.

Mariann: What does your writing schedule look like? Tim: Oh mercy, my writing schedule is mostly in the mornings. I usually write a blog post first thing on my blog, Echoes of Appalachia, which I have been writing for about 3 years now. Then I usually start on poems. Some days I get brain freeze and don't write at all. Most of the poems I publish on Vocal usually take me at least a week or so to write. If it is a story, then oh goodness, that story can take me a month to write.

Mariann : What do you like about cooking? Tim: I love cooking and have been cooking since I was 10. My granny taught me how to cook, and I really enjoyed watching her in the kitchen and learning from her. Cooking feels personal to me because it connects me to those memories and experiences. I also prefer home-cooked meals to eating out because I enjoy the comfort, flavor, and effort that go into cooking at home.

Mariann: How long did it take to write your cookbooks? Tim: It took me over a year to write and publish each of my cookbooks. I have three cookbooks in total, and I have always wanted to create a series that reflects my family, my roots, and the food I grew up with. My Life on a Plate: A Journey Back to Spillcorn shares my family’s story and explains why we cooked food the way we did. Mountain Cookery focuses on traditional Appalachian foods. A Sweet Taste of Appalachia is a collection of dessert recipes from the mountains. Most of the recipes in all three books come from my granny or my mother, which makes them very meaningful and personal to me.

​Thank you, Tim, for allowing me the honor of interviewing you.