AA: You’ve written nonfiction in the past, but this is your first novel, correct? JC: I have published two children’s picture books (Zonderkidz, 2009), and I have contributed to a dozen books, including the most recent coffee table book, Mississippians (Ed. Neil White, 2011 and 2012), but this is my debut novel. AA: What was […]
March Read of the Month: “Into the Free,” by Julie Cantrell
March 1, 2012 by 1 Comment
Review by Adele Annesi Julie Cantrell’s debut novel, Into the Free, offers a poetic voice and compelling story for young adults and adults that engages readers in tales of segregation, challenges, secrets and hope in unexpected places. Set in Depression-era Mississippi, Into the Free is the story of Millie Reynolds, whose mixed Choctaw and white […]
“Winged,” by April Kelly
February 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Donna Meredith The strong voice speaking from the pages of Winged, by April Kelly, immediately captures both interest and sympathy. The first paragraph lays out the dilemma—eighteen-year-old Allison just gave birth to a child with what her doctor labels as “a congenital anomaly” on her shoulder blades which should be removed, but the […]
February Read of the Month: “In the Time of the Feast of Flowers,” by Tina Egnoski
February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Bonnie Armstrong Tina Egnoski won the 2008 Black River Chapbook Contest with a collection of short stories, Perishables. Reviews of that work mention that she is a fine storyteller of the human condition whose fast-paced and dynamic prose generate an emotional intensity coupled with appropriate restraint. Egnoski continues this excellent writing with the publication of […]
“The Patron Saint of Dreams,” by Philip Gerard
January 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
By Donna Meredith In a well-known poem, Robert Frost once depicted humans as standing on a shore looking out to sea, unable to perceive much about their world. Philip Gerard, however, writes from the North Carolina coast with an unusual gift for peering not only “out far,” but also “in deep,” a talent vividly […]
January Read of the Month: “Wild Florida Waters,” by Doug Alderson
January 2, 2012 by 2 Comments
Review by Donna Meredith Doug Alderson’s Wild Florida Waters: Exploring the Sunshine State by Kayak and Canoe takes us on an amazing journey down miles of winding rivers. Alderson has a gift for making readers feel immersed in the scent of muddy bottoms, enthralled by the cries of limpkins, and calmed by paddles slurping […]