On a hot afternoon in June 2021, Gail Godwin decides that a recently planted dogwood tree in her garden needs water. A near-fatal decision, as it turns out. In attempting to water the tree, in the month of her eighty-fifth birthday, she falls and breaks her neck. Getting to Know Death: A Meditation (Bloomsbury Publishing […]
Read of the Month: “Getting to Know Death: A Meditation” by Gail Godwin
July 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Read of the Month: “All We Were Promised” by Ashton Lattimore
June 5, 2024 by Leave a Comment
All We Were Promised (Ballentine Books 2024) by Ashton Lattimore is a literary historical novel set in 1837 in which the author accomplishes exactly what an excellent historical novel should—that is, she blends well-researched, accurate historical facts into a fictional plot to create a fascinating, eminently readable, and suspenseful story. Readers will learn true history […]
May Read of the Month: “Treatment Plan” by Darryl Bollinger
May 1, 2024 by 1 Comment
Gripping—because the story is expertly crafted to grab you by the neck and not let go. Horrifying—because the very people who should be helping drug-addicted patients are instead motivated to make sure they stay addicted. Important—because even though Treatment Plan, by Darryl Bollinger, is fictional, similar events are happening to real families. Yes, Treatment Plan […]
Read of the Month: “Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse” by Chris Coward
April 3, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse (Atmosphere Press 2023) by Chris Coward has a stunning cover design befitting the exceptionally intriguing story inside. Speculative fiction, the novel is divided into three parts, each featuring a different character: “Connection 1: Kara, Dreamer”; “Connection 2: Pandora, Leader”; and “Connection 3: Dawn, Champion.” Each section takes places in […]
March Read of the Month: “A Glooming Peace This Morning” by Allen Mendenhall
March 6, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Allen Mendenhall’s debut novel, A Glooming Peace This Morning (Livingston Press 2023), is an achingly lovely, stirring novel about confused youth, a tragically mismatched relationship, legal ethics, and small-town Deep South in the 1970s. The story is told in the voice of a mature man looking back forty years to events in his youth, and […]
Read of the Month: “The Girl from the Red Rose Motel” by Susan Beckham Zurenda
January 30, 2024 by Leave a Comment
In this review/interview hybrid, Associate Editor Dawn Major discusses with author Susan Beckham Zurenda her second novel, The Girl From The Red Rose Motel (Mercer University Press 2023). DM: Susan, I thoroughly enjoyed your first book, Bells for Eli, and absolutely identified with Hazel’s character in The Girl from the Red Rose Motel even more. […]