Deitz also won the Phoenix Award in 2007. This award is given at the annual DeepSouthCon to a professional who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom.
Deitz was a well-liked college instructor as well, with stints as an adjunct English faculty member at Gainesville State College, Lanier Tech, and Tri-County Community College, and received a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in Fall 2008 at Gainesville State College. He was recognized as GSC's adjunct faculty member of the year in 2008.
In addition to writing, Deitz's creative outlets included visual art (murals, fantasy art, and more); drama (with minor roles in a number of community and college productions); model automobile collecting; costumery; and other pursuits via the Society for Creative Anachronism. He was a founding member of the SCA's Barony of Bryn Madoc.
Deitz died on Monday, April 27 2009 of heart failure. He had a heart attack in January of this year and was a candidate to receive a Ventricular assist device (VAD) but had suffered too much damage to his heart for the device to be implanted. (From Wikipedia)
I love this David Sullivan series. It had been a while since I read the first 3, but it all came back to me quickly. It is almost the Hobbit, (with the band of friends out to save several kingdoms), but in more modern times and in the Southern US in NC and Georgia. There is mountain folk lore, Faerie lore, Native American lore....and they are all tied in to make magical, literally and figuratively, stories.