#NewRelease VOICES BEYOND THE CREEK
- Dan
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Today, on the blog, author, Kurt Richards provides an excerpt from his YA novel Voices Beyond the Creek. Also, don't miss out on the giveaway below!
Blurb
Set in the foothills of the Appalachians, fourteen-year-old Caleb Austin and his friend Marlee (Mary Lee) Patterson face poverty and prejudice in their small rural town. Confronted with the "creek people" who live in the hollow and the wild child Annabelle Pruitt, their lives take an exciting turn.
Excerpt
Smoky’s coal-black eyes stared out of their sunken sockets, making Caleb slide to a halt on the gravel parking lot at Fletcher First Baptist Church. He stood frozen with fear as the old battered truck ground into gear and rattled down Cane Creek Road toward the hollow. Just the sight of Smoky Pruitt’s stony stare shot waves of terror through Caleb.
As with most small Southern towns in the early 1960s, everyone seemed to know everybody’s business. But some folks—like Smoky Pruitt—managed to slip past even the most prying eyes. For Caleb and his friends, Smoky’s life in the North Carolina mountains remained a mystery that spawned myths told deep in the night around campfires.
For most of Caleb Austin’s fourteen years, he had heard gruesome stories about how Smoky Pruitt hung live animals by their feet in his smokehouses. Tales told about Christmas hams actually being dogs, cured slowly in the rickety old shacks down in the hollow, sent chill bumps dancing across Caleb’s skin.
Giveaway
Curt Richards is a retired public school teacher from Upstate South Carolina. He has taught various science courses for forty years, from middle school to college. He believes there is no higher calling than guiding young people and adults through their education. In his free time, Richards enjoys studying nature, gardening, hiking, reading, socializing with family and friends, and writing in multiple genres.
Website: www.curtrichards.com
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