The Road Unsalted: A Novel of Carding, Vermont

If you think that Vermont is this sleepy little state in northern New England, you haven’t visited Carding yet.

Tucked away in the Corvus River Valley, Carding is home to one of the most renowned schools of traditional arts in the world, the Carding Academy, and a cast of characters that you won’t soon forget. And right now, just as winter is winding up for one more blizzard before spring arrives, the whole town is abuzz with the fight over ancient roads that will play out at the annual town meeting.

Edie Wolfe the executive director of the Academy, is very concerned about the vote. If it goes wrong, the Carding Academy of Traditional Arts will have to close. For nearly 100 years, the Academy has nurtured quilters, woodworkers, sculptors, writers, weavers, carvers, knitters, and painters from around the world. Many of the country's top designers started at Carding. But that doesn't matter to Harry Brown.

There’s a rumor going around that Harry will fire anyone working for Brown & Sons who goes against him at town meeting. And with the economy in a shambles, his threat carries a lot of weight. But the folks gossiping in Andy Cooper's store think Harry's real target is Edie, the woman who dared to leave him so many years ago.

Poor Peter Foster doesn’t know where to turn. Of all the people who work for Harry Brown, Peter's the only one the drivers respect. But Harry expects him to keep the crew of Brown & Sons in line so Peter feels responsible for their livelihoods, the woman he loves thinks he’s a traitor, and he’s not sure he wants to know what his wife just got in the mail from Cherries Jubilee.

Of course, Gideon Brown (that's Harry's eldest son) knows exactly what came in the mail from Cherries Jubilee. He just can't believe that something that's so small can cost so much.

Then there’s the plight of 12-year old Suzanna Owens whose celebrity mother is anything but a star when it comes to nurturing her daughter. Suzanna knows she belongs in Carding. But will she get to stay in the place she knows is way better than any TV program?

A novel of Carding, Vermont, The Road Unsalted is a humorous and heartwarming tale of how an idyllic Green Mountain community is thrown into upheaval as it struggles to preserve its distinctive identity.