Synopsis
Gritty Southern Christmas Anthology, is not your typical Southern Christmas stories some might find written in the Southern Living style. Yet it's your gritty salt of the earth writing about the hardworking people of the south. Stories about the people that might grieve the most deeply over this period of time each year. Many see it as the happy weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas, when others have the greatest voids and our hearts ache in silent grief. The time that Momma worked all year trying to keep her children fed, only to find she has no extra money to put a gift under the tree. When the months that follow cause great stress trying to pay off the credit card debt taken on to try to do what could be done. In our childhood we might have been paying for a few items through layaway. This is our writing, maybe your people. One thing for sure no one tells it better than those who have lived it. Come along, meet our families and see our lives full of hard times, tears, laughter and love.
"A collection of short stories that aims to inject real-world drama into tales of the holiday season."
- Kirkus Review
"'Tis the season to be truthful: the diverse stories collected in Gritty Southern Christmas Anthology are candid about the complications that mark many Southern Christmas celebrations. . . . Tribulations surround the book's cast. They deal with divorces, dead-end jobs, losses, imprisonments, and disappointments. Many struggle to make ends meet, let alone buy the perfect present. . . . While the book's characters are rarely cozy or idealized, they are an identifiable bunch. They slide into the holiday season on their foibles and mistakes, and many are in no mood to apologize for their faults. At the same time: they collectively yearn for the magic that Christmas used to hold for them, and that seemed to fade beneath the realities of adulthood. Their pains are sympathetic, familiar, and humanizing. . . . The short stories collected in Gritty Southern Christmas Anthology would not deign to suggest that the magic of Christmas washes all one's troubles away-but they still manage to wish their audience a merry holiday." - Foreword Review
"..I think I fell in love with every last page. Well written and exactly what I needed to lift my spirits."
- Brianna Minor NetGalley 5 Star Review
About the Authors
Laura Hunter was raised in Alabama hill country and now lives near Tuscaloosa. She has published sixteen award-winning fiction pieces and nine poems, in addition to the numerous articles published through different media outlets. She has written a collection of fictional short stories focused on Copeland's Crossing, Alabama, which will appear in print 2020. Beloved Mother, her award-winning novel, was released April 1, 2019.
Vanessa Davis Griggs is a motivational speaker & author of: DESTINY UNLIMITED, THE ROSE OF JERICHO, PROMISES BEYOND JORDAN, WINGS OF GRACE. Newer releases: BLESSED TRINITY, STRONGHOLDS, IF MEMORY SERVES, PRACTICING WHAT YOU PREACH, GOODNESS AND MERCY, THE TRUTH IS THE LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE, REDEEMING WATERS, FOREVER SOUL TIES, THE OTHER SIDE OF GOODNESS, THE OTHER SIDE OF DARE, THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE, STEELY GRAY and COUNTLESS BLESSINGS.
W.R. Benton, an Amazon Best Selling Author, has authored numerous books of fiction, non-fiction, Sci-Fi, young adult, historical, and Southern humor. Such notable authors and actors as, Matt Braun, Stephen Lodge, Don Bendell, James Drury, "The Virginian," Robert Woods, and many others have endorsed his work. His "War Paint" is being developed into a movie. The movie will be produced by MVP3, Talent Management for Tennessee, New York, Illinois, and California.His book, "War Paint" is currently in the pre-production stage of becoming a feature film. Mister Benton has an Associate Degree in Search and Rescue, Survival Operations, a baccalaureate in Occupational Safety and Health, and a Masters Degree in Psychology completed except for his thesis. Sergeant Benton retired from the military in 1997, with over twenty-six years of active duty, and at the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (E-8). He spent twelve years as a Life Support Instructor where he taught aircrew members how to use survival gear, survival procedures, and parachuting techniques. Mister Benton lives in Mississippi, with his wife, Melanie Benton, (uses the pen name, Grady Clark) four dogs, and two cats, on an imaginary ranch.
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