On this West Virginia Morning, Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire is a young adult novel set in Appalachia. Written by West Virginia native Don Martin, the book follows the story of a witch-in-training who uses her magic to help a forgotten mountain coal town. It was an instant New York Times bestseller after it was released last year. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Martin about the book and his podcast Head on Fire.

Also, there were two fatal mine accidents at the end of last week. The first took place in Raleigh County, followed less than 24 hours by an accident in Marshall County.

And, it’s well known that smoking can lead to lung cancer. New research also finds a connection between lung cancer and air pollution. The Allegheny Front has the story.

Finally, this past weekend saw the finals of the women’s NCAA tournament and the final game for the men is tonight.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Eric Douglas produced this episode.

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A Conversation With ‘Verity Vox And The Curse Of Foxfire’ Author, This West Virginia Morning