Here’s a potpourri of original stories and poems from up-and-coming West Virginia writers, edited by well-known author Victor J. Banis. The anthology includes: “The Reckoning,” “Metamorphosis,” and “The Thief” by Bev Rees; “Rosie and Mac” by Sally Brinkmann; “Dear Ann Landers: Excerpts from a Novel in Progress,” by Craig Tucker; “AIDS Diaries—Francel,” “Day Lights, Night Lights,” and “Hob Knobbin’” by Eve Birch; “Pappy’s Angels,” “Big Easys,” and “A Wildwood Flounder” by Leigh Horne; “The ...

Young Rob Johnson just wants to farm his family's land in Morgan County, Virginia, and court pretty Fannie Swann, but the outbreak of war between the North and the South plunges him into a world of treachery and violence. Threatened by Rebel conscription gangs and Yankee foragers, Rob finally joins the 48th Virginia Infantry and experiences the horrors of war.Rob still thinks of Fannie, who has been playing a dangerous game for the Southern cause. He's also attracted to brave Laura...

The year is 1862. Dan Fields, a Corporal in Stonewall Jackson's Rebel Army, is marching near Bath, Virginia. At the height of a blizzard, he touches the cross at his neck and remembers his Granny's warning: "You won't die in this war, but you may wish you had." Seeking refuge, he stumbles into a cave, and suddenly finds himself in 2010. Cold and starving, Dan stumbles onto the farm of beautiful Allie Johnson, who saves his life. But Dan has been followed into the future by his nefarious co...

If you're poor in the hills of Appalachia and don’t have the skills to succeed in the 21st Century, what path is left? You try what you can and you do whatever it takes to survive. Survival, not always easy in hill country, is the common theme in these three stories from West Virginia.WICKED WOMENWhen a man wrongs his woman in these hills, there’s only one thing to do: get even. For the women of Peach Tree Hollow, who have no cash, no connections, and no clout, this is hard...