Drafts folder. Begun I believe July 2022. Since then my life and I have moved on. I’ll never properly finish it. The post at the link ends:

Which brings us to today. I need to get my thoughts in order. What better place to ramble on and on about the book, the times, the characters, and the setting than here?

To be continued.

My piece on Peery was published in the local paper. As I recall the editor called it a Special Contribution or something, and I think he put it on the front page. Maybe. Anyway–the piece was going to share reviews of the time, and a quick synopsis. Didn’t happen and the whole thing was a very odd experience. Peery’s granddaughter contacted me almost immediately, and just like that didn’t return my emails. I think I know what happened but I’ll keep that to myself.

Only quick thoughts I have are that I still would love to have his second book, and if you ever stumble across Stark Summer, I’d be happy to reimburse you for the trouble of snapping it up and sending it to me. It really is something–a good story, real characters, and a depiction of a southern small town I think unrivaled.

Only one more in the Drafts folder. The two books I need to finish it are sitting right over there on the settee. So working on it!!

Back story, Obligatory Rabbit Hole, and The Name of Local Paper

Skinny backstory: I discovered a writer, James Robert Peery (1900-1954) who was born and raised in my little town. During his lifetime, he published two very well received novels, both set in north central Mississippi. The first is almost impossible to find, and the second, expensive. (Please hit the tip jar, thanks.) As I was doing research and searching for his first book, Stark Summer, I emailed the editor of our local paper, who also began researching Peery. He’s offered to publish anything I write about Peery and the book.

This is where I will get my thoughts together. Comments are most welcome.

*Stark Summer has no illustrations; this is just to set the mood.

Let us first get something out of the way. The fictional town, Powell, Mississippi was in rural north central Mississippi–the Deep South. The story takes place during the summer of 1938, so barely beginning to come out of the Depression. Peery writes what he knows, and he knows the town and its people. But he presents them to the world of 1938, not 2022. His words choices, the dialect he uses for some characters, the behavior of some of one race to another– is how things were.