Rawlings' first novel, South Moon Under, captures the richness of Cross Creek in telling the story of a young man, Lant, who must support himself and his mother by making and selling moonshine, and what he must do when a traitorous cousin threatens to turn him in. Moonshiners were the subject of several of her stories, and Rawlings lived with a moonshiner for several weeks near Ocala to prepare for writing the book. South Moon Under was included in the Book-of-the-Month Club and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.