Margaret Littman is both a relative newcomer to the Volunteer State and an old-timer. An alumnae of Vanderbilt University, she left for points north over the course her writing career. But after 17 years she could no longer resist the siren song of the Parthenon, bluegrass music or fried pickles, and returned to Nashville where she writes about Music City, Southeast travel, food, pets and more. An avid stand-up paddler, she loves being a day's trip away from the Tennessee River to the south, Reelfoot Lake to the west and Norris Dam to the east.

There's nothing she loves more than telling a native something he or she didn't know about his or her home state. She has lots of ideas for little-known places to listen to music, eat barbecue, paddle a lake, hike to a waterfall and buy works by local artists.

Her work has appeared in national and regional magazines, including The Tennessean, The Nashville Scene, Rolling Stone Country and Entrepreneur, as well as many others.

Since moving to Nashville, Margaret has acquired a Ford pickup truck and an impressive selection of cowboy boots, but still not the ability to carry a tune.