Nancy Rhyne is the award-winning author of several books and one of the most popular regional writers in the country. She strives to introduce children to the heritage of their area through local folklore and legends that are designed to inspire children to learn about their own surroundings as well as to entertain them with delightful stories of children, much like themselves, caught in some very unusual circumstances.
In Rhyne's most recent title, The Jack-O'-Lantern Ghost, Ben is drawn to Hell Hole Swamp to find the legendary treasure so his family can pay for his father's medical treatment. Ben's courageous search ends in more than gold.
In The South Carolina Lizard Man, young twins Josh and Matt venture into the dangerous unknowns of the haunted Hell Hole Swamp in search of ghosts; but they find themselves facing a much more frightening and real creature. Concealed among the greenery and moss, they spy a man-sized lizard with radiant green scales and an eerie, somewhat human smile. Terrified but intrigued by their find, the brothers set off to learn more about the monster that lives on the edge of their plantation and to face the mysteries that dwell deep within the swamp. This latest addition to Rhyne's children's books brings to life many of the well-known and little-known legends of the famed South Carolina lowlands.
Rhyne's children's writings also include Alice Flagg, Ghost of the Hermitage, a work of historical fiction dealing with the mysterious sightings of what witnesses have called a ghost near Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. And another popular favorite is Once Upon a Time on a Plantation, the story of the friendship between two twelve-year-old boys—one black and one white—set prior to the Civil War.
A resident of Murrells Inlet, Rhyne is a sought-after speaker and storyteller throughout the region. She actively lectures to school groups, conventions, civic organizations, and other groups who enjoy her tales of the South Carolina Low Country, plantation life in the 1800s, and most recently, the intriguing tale of the infamous creature believed to be half human and half lizard that roams the lowlands.
Rhyne holds memberships in the National Federation of Media Women, the South Carolina Media Women, and the National Association for the Perpetuation and Preservation of Storytelling. She was born in Mt. Holly, North Carolina, and attended Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina. Rhyne has appeared in the past on national television, preserving the legends and folklore of her home state, and has become an expert on the history and folklore of the coast of South Carolina through her years of research and writing.