Steve Rasnic Tem grew up in Lee County Virginia, the westernmost county in the state. It was the heart of Appalachia, isolated, yet beautiful. He has said "Growing up in that small place, it was hard to imagine ever becoming a writer. To me wanting to be a writer was like wanting to become an astronaut or a movie star. I didn't believe such things ever happened for people like us." Now in his seventies, Steve Rasnic Tem's writings include more than 500 published short stories in a variety of genres, seventeen collections, eight novels, and miscellaneous poetry and plays. He has won the World Fantasy, Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and International Horror Guild awards. In 2024 he received the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

"His work...will haunt your imagination and your heart in equal measure, and it both expands and defines the genre." - Weird Fiction Review

"Steve Rasnic Tem is a school of writing unto himself." - Joe R. Lansdale

"He's one of the true masters." - Ed Gorman

"A Tem story is like no other." - Simon Strantzas

Scarecrows: Appalachian Tales collects the best of Tem's writings about his native Appalachia, two poems and twenty-four short stories (including five never-before-published tales) concerning the farmers, miners, teachers, preachers, lawmen, itinerants, housewives, elders, children, and creatures who call these southern mountains home. The tales represent a range of genres: fantasy, horror, crime, humor, and realistic local color fiction of the region.