Appalachian Tales

What Is This?

Hello, and welcome to Appalachian Tales. This is where I come to express all facets of myself. To tell my story as only I can tell it. As only I should tell it. It is an exercise in honesty and self-examination, not ego. It is offered in a “can you believe this happened?” spirit, not a “how great am I?” one. It is more akin to accounting. Or testimony. For your sake, I also intend for it to be entertaining, if not thought provoking.

This is a living multimedia memoir—produced while events are sill being processed, not years later once everything has been neatly resolved and largely forgotten. It’s an unlikely story that unfolded from a single unifying perspective, in places and under circumstances that still feel surreal.

The posts appear in a curated sequence, but the work was not and will not be created that way. I write as inspiration moves me, rather than in chronological or even logical order. Some offerings are narrative. Some are reflective. Some are analytical. Some are editorial. Some sit uncomfortably in between. That is intentional.

Why This Format?

Every traditional publishing path adds distance—via time, permission, dilution, or a financial middleman. Social media, on the other hand, collapses nuance into performance and rewards heat and volume over truth.

This project sits deliberately between those extremes. It incorporates the tradition of the Appalachian storyteller with the spirit of patronage and direct support found in platforms like Patreon and YouTube or crowdfunding models like Kickstarter—while intentionally avoiding the extractive layers, gatekeeping, and filtering inherent in traditional publishing and large marketplaces like Amazon. Or OnlyFans.

Publishing directly allows me to:

• Maintain creative and financial independence

• Share raw work as it evolves, not after it has been sanitized

• Engage thoughtfully, without algorithms shaping the conversation

If you choose to support the work, you are not buying a finished product. You’re underwriting the continuation of something that is still being crafted. You are both supporting and participating in the process as a direct patron of the arts.

How Does It Work?

Some material (below) is available freely as an introduction and as marketing for my photographic services. Feel free to sample it. That should give you a good indication if you might like to see more work of this caliber.

Full access unlocks:

• The complete Appalachian Tales archive

• New posts and media as they are released

• Occasional bonus or event-driven content, reflections, or invitations

Support can be one-time or ongoing. Recurring support encourages continued work. There is no artificial scarcity. There is no obligation. There is only creative bandwidth coupled with financial reality.

How This Is Different?

This is not a public artist discussion forum. The content can be sensitive. (It is for me, anyway.) Most engagement happens directly—through broadcast emails, optional reflection prompts, or short surveys attached to new material. Responses are read and appreciated individually.

From time to time, I may share aggregate survey results—patterns, themes, or points of divergence. There is no requirement to ever participate publicly. There is no pressure to perform virtue or vulnerability. This format is designed to foster an exchange with interested participants who tend to absorb thoroughly, think deeply, and speak selectively.

Where Is This Going?

The story continues to evolve in real time, which will manifest as new content and posts. Within the overall story arc, where it broadens and deepens will be, to an extent, influenced by where curiosity and engagement seem to converge. Some posts may expand or morph into other media or presentation channels. Others may forever stand as they are. Everything is subject to change.

In time, this space may also support more intimate, one-to-one reflective work. Always private. Always contextual. Never broadcast by default. This is not about building a community. It’s about making contact. It is about creating a safe way for me to publicly share private experiences.

Thank you, in advance, for your support and your willingness to invest in the work ahead. If you find value in it and share it with others who might as well, that support allows me to devote more time and energy to artistic expression.

Sincerely,
Roger French

A Note on AI

AI has been and will be used as a tool—for editing, fact-checking, concept development, and structural feedback. It works at my direction to realize my vision. Nothing is published without my final review and approval. The concept, voice, judgments, and the responsibility for all content remain mine.

Example Content Links

Still, I Stayed - A Living Memoir

A book in progress about moving to North Carolina to escape the pandemic and find adventure. (Subscriber content includes 23 chapters consisting of 16,368 words as of 1/25/2026.)

Hurricane Helene Flood

An eyewitness multimedia account of a natural disaster.

The Peripheral Tour

See what it was like when a major studio series production came to a tiny town in the remote Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina. (Subscriber content includes on-set video as well as many more of my exclusive BTS photos.)