I didn’t actually have to watch this video myself in order to write about Gatlinburg since I’ve been there many times over the course of my life. In fact, my folks used to take my brother and I up there as kids for little day trips on random weekends. I actually wrote about 50% of Smoky Mountain Dreams during a week’s stay in Gatlinburg in June of 2014 and went to Puckers and a few other places to make sure I got the descriptions right in the book. (By the way, there is a lingering shot of the Puckers sign at the end of this video.)
I wouldn’t say this is the best video of Gatlinburg. For one thing there is that unfortunate red truck blocking the view of a lot of it. I much prefer the video I posted earlier this month. I think it gives a better feel for the place. But I do think this gives one an idea of the landscape and the crowds and the way the traffic flows through there (and why Christopher is always taking shortcuts). It’s a busy little place akin to, say, Daytona Beach in the mountains in terms of quality of shopping experience and type of crowds. It might even be described as trashy. I’m okay with that. 🙂
So here you go! Complete with a Dolly Parton song! 😀

Christopher Ryder and Jesse Birch are two men hanging on to the past. While Christopher has let go of his failure as a country singer in Nashville, he’s still trying to please his narrow-minded, non-accepting family. His beloved Gran loves him the way he is, but Christopher feels painfully invisible to everyone else. He’s happy enough performing at the Smoky Mountain Dreams theme park in Tennessee, but even when Christopher is center stage he aches for someone to see the real him.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to bisexual Jesse. He’s raising two kids and fighting with family after a tragic accident took his children’s mother. There’s no room in his life for dating, his kids are his priority, and he doesn’t want more than an occasional hook-up. He sure as hell doesn’t want to fall hard for his favorite local singer, but when Christopher walks into his jewelry studio, Jesse hears a new song in his heart.
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