White Ravens: And More Stories

by Jim Stewart

Overview

This is a collection of tales set in the modern American West with characters who somehow dispel the rugged individualist myth while enhancing it at the same time.

Jim Stewart says: The first edition of White Ravens was self-published via Smashwords, just to see if I could pull it off. The editing was not rigorous and the whole concept of doing it yourself was fairly new. It was a great learning experience and I’m grateful to Smashwords for the guidance and encouragement. Then, Word Hermit Press offered to publish my novel, Ochoco Reach, and I was very happy at my good fortune. The original version of White Ravens And More Stories languished with very little attention from me or anybody else. I also self-published a short story single called Early to Rise because it made the rounds of literary magazines with no takers. Editors who said they liked the story told me the awkward length of it handcuffed them. So, I included it in White Ravens for this edition. Willy Hayes, one of the main characters in Ochoco Reach, makes her first appearance as a fictional character in Early to Rise.

Appearing for the first time anywhere is the story Bleeding Alder, featuring a young Mike Ironwood, the forthright hero from Ochoco Reach. After White Ravens comes Joshua’s Tree, the second Ironwood novel. It should appear in 2019.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781732750807
Publisher:	Word Hermit Press LLC
Publication date:	09/30/2018
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

Born in Chicago, Jim Stewart has memories of living in Buffalo, New York, New England, and Southern California. He finally grew up in Oregon and has published in the following journals: The Alembic, Licking River Review, Orange Willow Review, Orion, Rattapallax, Tulane Review, and others. His story White Ravens was a finalist in a Glimmer Train open fiction contest. In 2016, Jim's debut novel Ochoco Reach was published by Word Hermit Press. Jim has also spent much of his life as a musician and is happy to have songs featured in the films Dancing on the Edge and Pacific Vibrations. He's done other musical work as well, working with producers and stage directors.

Table of Contents

1. The Last Salmon
2. And
3. Bleeding Alder
4. The Juggler
5. The Cup
6. Early to Rise
7. White Ravens

Editorial Reviews

"These stories are full of birds, fish, dogs, and rivers. The wind howls and the rain hammers anything that dares stick its head out. The lonely men and women are mostly in the process of disappearing, disconnecting. The lucky ones know what Jim Stewart calls “the magic of just being alive.” A mix of close-detailed realism and fantasy, the stories patiently work the same problems from a dozen different angles. Unless you’re one of those fortunate souls who has the world figured out, you may find yourself and the things you care about here." -Craig Ryan, author of the Pre-Astronauts, Magnificent Failure, Come up and Get Me (with Joe Kittinger), and Sonic Wind.

"The stories in White Ravens...and More Stories are about lost-and-found love on the American Frontier, the territory Huck Finn set out for. It’s a book about place. Stewart’s raw characters are domestically unmoored, big-hearted, edging toward crazy, and immensely appealing." -Robin Cody, award-winning author of Ricochet River, the novel, and Voyage of a Summer Sun, the memoir.

"All the stories breathe. I can smell evergreen, hear fish smack against burbling water, and feel the whisper of breeze against my cheek as I read. They’re people you’ve met, experiences you’ve dreamed, and lyric wonders you’ll devour on the page." -Andra Watkins, New York Times Best Selling Author

From the Publisher