From a scandal-rocked town in West Texas to a Blackfeet Indian reservation in Montana, these short stories take readers to surprising places in America and the human heart!
All author and editor royalties from The Acorn Gathering go to funding cancer research!
These stories range from gritty and controversial to gentle and touching. Starting with the West Texas setting from Duane Simolke’s collection The Acorn Stories, this anthology takes readers across several landscapes, during times of trouble, change, hope, and triumph.
Simolke edited the book and wrote four of its stories. Like Simolke’s other books, this one features a racially diverse cast, but this one also features five brilliant, undiscovered writers! You’ve never read a fiction collection like this before, and you won’t soon forget it!
Excerpt
From "Finding Acorns In Winter"
By Duane Simolke
The acorn gathering begins.
I carry the basket, woven by my grandmother, many winters ago. She had worked the basket carefully and methodically, pouring into it all the love she felt for my mother and father. She had imagined it would bring them a memory of her as they sat sharing a bowl of acorn soup.
She never imagined a winter like this one, when acorns would become our main source of food and medicine. Only the youngest and elders remain behind as our men hunt and our women gather.
'Better Without You'is a compelling narrative that explores the complexities of an affair, hidden secrets, and abuse. It also highlights a daughter's heartfelt journey as she cares for her mother who is battling dementia.
South Baltimore serves as the backdrop for this gripping story of three brothers leading very different lives but joined forever by the secrets of a painful family past.
In a post-coup America, an Illinois farm boy is drawn into the resistance by his brother's death. Captured, he is given a choice: betray his friends, or the girl he loves will be lobotomized.