All That Is Hidden
I’m thrilled to feature other authors and their novels on my Standout Stories blog. But today, please allow me the indulgence of sharing my own. Two months ago, I re-launched All That Is Hidden with a fresh cover and revised content---new and improved! It’s still the same compelling story, but now it has...
Under a Cloudless Sky
When I first picked up Under a Cloudless Sky, I thought it was about the 1920 miners’ massacre known as the Battle of Matewan, a shootout between local coal miners and the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency in West Virginia. Ten men died as a result of this fight for miner’s rights. I was intrigued to learn about this from a...
A Piece of the Moon
Will the real Mack Strum please stand up? While reading Chris Fabry’s A Piece of the Moon, I stumbled across this character Mack Strum, a country singer. The story’s setting is a country radio station in rural West Virginia. Waite Evers, the manager, recites beautiful, touching lyrics from Mack’s song “A Piece of the...
Laurel’s Dream
Like millions of others, I long ago fell in love with the book Christy by Catherine Marshall. I read it in middle school about five years after publication (1967). That was my first introduction to the Smoky Mountains, delving into 1912 southern Appalachia, seeing the world through the eyes of newcomer Christy...
Stories That Bind Us
When my daughter got married, I made a recipe book as a gift. In scrapbook fashion, I assembled recipes and anecdotes that told the story of our family in terms of special meals, snacks, holidays, and celebrations. I had a blast making it, recalling the times we enjoyed Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole with company, or made...
All Manner of Things
In Michigan in the 1960s, I was a kid with little understanding of the world outside my small town other than TV news footage of hippies, flower children, race riots, and the Vietnam War. I attended kindergarten with both black and white children, with no clue why some grown-ups hated dark-skinned people. The only...
The Nature of Small Birds
A funny thing about stories--within ten minutes of starting a good one (whether reading a book or watching a show), I’m compelled to find out what happens to the protagonist as soon as possible. I’d be perfectly fine without meeting said hero or heroine, but once I’m hooked, I’m not satisfied until the tale ends. No...
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At the beginning of each middle school and high school writing class, I ask my students: “If writing were a food, what kind of food would it be and why?” Here are some answers I’ve received: Writing is like spinach. It’s good for me but I hate it. Writing is like pizza. I enjoy it but it depends on the...
Trailer for A Hundred Magical Reasons, a novel
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