Photo of the old Fringer General Store in Spec, Virgina by Nancy Brauer

The tiny village of Spec was named after the specular variety of the mineral hematite, an iron ore that was mined on the west flank of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The store building originally served as the mining camp commissary.

A geologist turned programmer turned writer and graphic artist, Nancy Brauer divides her time between freelance web and graphic design, writing novels and screenplays, and photography.