Pat Cunningham Devoto had specific hopes for the women imprisoned at the Montgomery Women’s Facility who participated in her book club for the better part of seven years. She hoped the books they read would give some respite from their daily prison life and, at the same time, hoped the individual members might gain valuable knowledge that would have a positive impact on their future. Doesn’t that sound lovely?Instead, Devoto learned how to “brew” a batch of beer—right under the gua...

"The dawn of integration challenges the Southern smalltown conventions of Bainbridge, Ala. . . . in Devoto's gracefully written new novel." — Publishers WeeklyMy Last Days as Roy Rogers, Pat Cunningham Devoto's notable debut, received widespread praise in the Denver Post, Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Kirkus Reviews, among other publications. Born and raised in North Alabama, Devoto taps into her personal experiences and me...

John McMillan was only eight years old when his mother died and he was ripped, without warning, from his sheltered world of books and gentility. Now on his aunt's run-down tenant farm in southern Alabama, abused by his alcoholic uncle, and completely bereft, John longs for escape--his only hope for survival.He's about to get his wish in a way no one could ever predict....A twist of fate will bring John to the Bend, a black settlement that has become a refuge for outcasts, where he'l...

"Like To Kill a Mockingbird, this book paints a distinctly Southern picture of friendship, justice, and the bond between outcasts." — St. Petersburg TimesIn an Alabama town in the early 1950s during the last polio summer before the Salk vaccine, ten-year-old Tabitha "Tab" Rutland is about to have the time of her life. Although movie theaters and pools have been closed to stem the epidemic, Tab, a tomboy with a passion for Roy Rogers, still seeks ad...