December 1st, 2014

Happy Oneth of December!


Been awhile since I posted. Had a wonderfully successful and fun day this week in Fayetteville. Book sales and book signings were great. Met so many wonderful folks out shopping. Always nice to meet people who love to read. The weather was in the low 70s though a little windy. A stark contrast to this morning's weather.


It is currently 25 degrees with freezing rain and small snow falling. Not calling for any bad weather like ice and snow accumulations today, just cold. A good day to grab a hot beverage and get back to writing.

The Marble King

"…the Logan County school was out last week and the return to classes wouldn’t begin again until after Labor Day. It was the first full Friday of their summer vacation and they were out to enjoy it.

Bradley was on the ground with a sharp stick drawing the circle that would be the ring for the marble game called ringer.

“Bet you still have that ugly, lame shooter don’t you, Larry,” ridiculed Bruce. He was busy chewing a wad of gum and flipping his own shooter—a black and white aggie—up into the air and catching it again like flipping a coin. Bruce considered himself the best at everything and that included marbles. He’d placed third in his first ever state marble championship last year and had a nice trophy and a fancy blue marble bag to show for it. He was a competitor and had no tolerance for those he considered inferior whether it involved marbles or anything else. He was a straight “A” student in school but in social situations, he might rate a failing grade for rudeness and belligerence. Many thought his attitude might have something to do with the fact his family had more money than anyone else in the small town. Larry thought it was because he had a wad of rude stuck somewhere in his body where good manners should have been…"

Excerpt from the short story “The Marble King” from the book “Storytellin’: True & Fictional Short Stories Of Arkansas”

Pre-publication publicist flyer

For the soon-to-be released book,

“Storytellin’: True and Fictional Short Stories of Arkansas”

An interesting and intriguing collection of true Cotner family tales and original, entertaining short stories inspired by a variety of actual people and events in the River Valley and Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas.

The author’s grandfather, a railroad bull for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Line Railroad in the 1920s was the inspiration for “He A Friend Of Yours?” the uplifting tale of a young boy, a midnight train and the importance and value of friendship.

Many Cotners made their living by working with stone, the author included, and they inspired the chilling “Reba’s Stone” a story about a young dead girl and the gravestone that worked to set in motion the wheels of justice.

In the eerie “Grave Voices” a shady, prominent preacher is taught a lesson about honesty and being careful what you wish for—a story evolved from an actual event in the United Methodist Church in Booneville, Arkansas in 1923.

‘See a penny, pick it up’ is an old and familiar saying but it takes on a completely new meaning in “Pretty Penny”, the story of greed, sacrifice and lost love inspired by a walk the author took with his mother in the early 1950s.

A shiny, new red and white tricycle for Christmas at the early age of four years led to the unusual and completely weird tale of a playful yet destructive robot in “Pookie, Man Of Steel”.

With numerous fishing adventures around Logan County, Arkansas and interaction with the denizens of deep, murky waters to draw from comes “On The Prominent List”, the frightening yet oddly funny tale of a legendary snake called Old Fang of Black Pond and the man who would kill it.

And for something truly frightening, there’s nothing like the excitement of prowling around in a big, two-story ancient barn especially if you’re a twelve year old boy free from school on a hot summer’s day—the heat, the smells, the random encounters with spiders, snakes and who-knows-what. It’s the deadly who-knows-what lurking in the story “JackOBones” one needs to watch for. It’s a creepy, bloody tale of a butcher, his family and retribution.

These and many more stories wait within…take the journey!

Anticipated publication and release date for “Storytellin’: True and Fictional Short Stories of Arkansas” is December 2010