Reviewed by Donna Meredith In the Lonely Backwater (Regal House Publishing, 2022) would be a grand read if it were only a clever psychological mystery or simply a unique coming-of-age story, but Valerie Nieman achieves so much more than that. With gorgeous description and elegant prose, Nieman transforms a North Carolina village and marina into […]
April Read of the Month: “Family Law,” by Gin Phillips
April 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adele Annesi Family Law, by novelist Gin Phillips, is a work of historical fiction set in Montgomery, Alabama, from 1979 through 1981. Told from the perspectives of young attorney Lucia Gilbert and budding teen Rachel Morris, Family Law explores the course of two female alter egos on the cusp of change and […]
March Read of the Month: “Old Country Fiddle,” by Heath Dollar
March 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Adam Van Winkle Old Country Fiddle is certainly an appropriate title for Heath Dollar’s new short story collection from Red Dirt Press. Though, those familiar with some of Dollar’s previous stories will recognize the setting, fictional Waylon County, out in the land of the accordion, Texas Hill Country. Those familiar with the Texas […]
February Read of the Month: “Take a Left at Tomorrow,” by Renee Anduze
February 3, 2022 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith The wild rebellion against authority that characterized the Sixties burns through the pages of Renee Anduze’s coming-of-age novel, Take a Left at Tomorrow (Twisted Road 2021). Those who lived through the decade’s changes will appreciate how expertly Anduze paints the mood of the time. Those born later will experience the upheavals […]
December Read of the Month: “Wild Spectacle,” by Janisse Ray
December 14, 2021 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Janisse Ray’s writing has always been robust and rich with that magical, evocative touch that pulls her readers into a scene, a thought, an emotion, or an insight. Just as in her acclaimed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, Ray’s insightful, eloquent writing shines in Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a […]
November Read of the Month: “When Women Danced With Trees—35 Unexpected Stories,” by Marina Brown
November 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Versatile, talented Marina Brown once more has written a stunning gem of a book with her collection of short stories in When Women Danced with Trees—35 Unexpected Stories (Gilberte Press 2021). Here, the extraordinary and the unexpected collide with the ordinary and the everyday. With the occasional appearance of magical […]