Son of a Bird (Etruscan Press 2025), is a disarmingly fascinating memoir of a childhood on a dairy farm in Virginia that is told in a collection of prose poems by well-established poet Nin Andrews. While there are some harsh memories, on balance it is a book with a great deal of charm—and courage. Andrews […]
“Through an Open Window” by Pamela Terry
September 6, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Through an Open Window (Ballantine 2025) by Pamela Terry is an engaging novel about family, love, and loss, centered on the secrets we keep to protect those closest to us. The story takes a whimsical turn from the very first page, when the ghost of Aunt Edith appears to recently widowed Margaret. Edith has been […]
“In the Fullness of Time” by Terry Roberts
September 3, 2025 by Leave a Comment
More than just a compelling mystery or a well-executed police procedural—though it is both—In the Fullness of Time (Turner Publishing, 2025) offers profound reflections on the nature of time itself. Roberts masterfully weaves together past, present, and future in ways that feel almost magical. His lyrical descriptions of the mountains and valleys of North Carolina […]
Read of the Month: “The Wretched and Undone” by J. E. Weiner
September 3, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Author J. E. Weiner kicks off her debut novel, The Wretched and Undone (HTF Publishing 2025) with a rattlesnake falling from the rafters of a church onto the congregation below. That’s a tough scene to follow, but Weiner keeps ramping up tension and introducing unexpected events, each scene propelling the story forward as we follow […]
“That Which Binds Us” by Cathy Rigg
September 2, 2025 by Leave a Comment
In an exploration of the influences that bind us to people and place, to conviction and dream, Cathy Rigg’s That Which Binds Us makes a tumultuous journey from 1854 to 1866. Set in the mountains of southwestern Virginia and told from the perspective of five first-person characters, the novel rings with intimacy and authenticity, deftly […]
Jennifer Lewis
September 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Jennifer Lewis is an English graduate student focusing on creative nonfiction at Marshall University, WV with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre. She’s had her work published in the 2023 and 2024 issues of Et Cetera and was nominated for the Maier award in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Jennifer presented at Marshall’s 2024 COLA Conference and their […]