Diane McPhail
Their books are separated by centuries, continents, and genre. Their friendship is not.
This month, two local authors and longtime friends will celebrate the publication of new books within weeks of one another. Diane McPhail’s The French Innkeeper’s Daughter is a meticulously researched historical novel set in 18th‑century France. J. Tom Morgan’s A Rainy Night in Georgia is a true‑crime memoir rooted in one of Georgia’s most notorious murder prosecutions.
The pair have been close friends for about 14 years, and with both books arriving in September, Morgan suggested they mark the occasion with a public conversation. The coincidence runs deeper than their publication dates.
Despite their vastly different settings, the two books explore similar questions about courage, accountability, and what happens when those entrusted with protecting others betray that trust.
That conversation will take place Tuesday, September 29, at 5:00 P.M. in the Martin-Lipscomb Theater at the Highlands Performing Arts Center. Attorney Ann Huckstep — a longtime friend of McPhail whose legal background makes her an ideal contributor — will moderate the free event, which includes audience questions and a reception afterward.
The conversation continues the following evening, September 30, during a second public appearance at Lazy Hiker Brewing in Sylva.
For McPhail, the Highlands event coincides with the publication of her fourth novel. Known for historical fiction grounded in meticulous research, she insists the historical foundation must always be authentic. “The basic facts underlying the story are true,” she says. “They have to be for it to mean anything.”
In The French Innkeeper’s Daughter, McPhail again uses history as the backdrop for an intensely personal story. Set in the years leading to the French Revolution, the novel follows a young woman whose life is shattered when a corrupt judge abuses his authority, forcing her from the only life she has known. What follows is a sweeping journey across France and ultimately to colonial Louisiana, but at its heart the novel is less about the places than the choices its heroine must make when justice fails and survival depends on resilience, courage, and hope.
If McPhail explores those questions through historical fiction, Morgan comes to them through firsthand experience.
J.Tom Morgan
A longtime instructor of criminal law and criminal procedure at Western Carolina University, Morgan previously spent more than two decades in the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, including 12 years as district attorney.
As the lead prosecutor in the nationally known Sidney Dorsey murder case, he successfully prosecuted the former sheriff for orchestrating the murder of Sheriff‑elect Derwin Brown — work that earned him the International Association of Prosecutors’ Special Achievement Award, the first ever presented to an American prosecutor.
A Rainy Night in Georgia tells that story from Morgan’s own perspective. “It shows the behind‑the‑scenes from the eyes of the prosecutor,” he says, “and also the impact on a prosecutor’s family, especially when that prosecutor’s life has been threatened.”
Interest in the memoir has been building steadily. Although the case has already inspired seven documentaries — including one currently airing on the Oxygen Network — this is the first full‑length book devoted to the story. Morgan says the memoir has already received strong advance endorsements, and invitations are arriving quickly, with appearances scheduled in Sylva, at the Decatur Book Festival, and in Athens, Washington, and New York.
Highlands audiences will have one of the first opportunities to hear him discuss the book.
The friendship behind the event extends well beyond literature. Morgan first met Diane and her husband, Ray McPhail, at Buck’s Coffee Shop (now Calder’s Coffee Cafe) in Highlands. After Morgan underwent open‑heart surgery, the McPhails insisted he recover in their home rather than return to an empty house. Today, he still counts them among his closest friends.
Their friendship also inspired a lasting legacy. Six years ago, the McPhails endowed a scholarship at Western Carolina University in Morgan’s name. Awarded annually to the rising senior in the criminal justice department with the highest GPA, it reflects their commitment to the next generation of criminal justice professionals.
For McPhail, the connection between the books is unmistakable. “The underlying drift in both of them has to do with when the legal becomes criminal — when those you look to for safety and protection turn criminal,” she says.
Morgan sees another common thread. “People have described both books as books of perseverance and redemption,” he says. “It’s seeking justice when it’s very difficult.”
Readers won’t simply hear two authors discuss their newest books. They’ll become part of a discourse among friends exploring one of society’s oldest and most unsettling dilemmas: What happens when the very people we trust to embody truth, integrity, and justice become the ones who betray that trust?
Favorites Count: 0