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The Fixin’ Place. Doesn’t that sound like somewhere you’d like to be?

Check it out here. 

I believe we are all broken people. We come into this world with the absolute likelihood that we’ll face issues that can wreck us.

What if there were a place you could go for healing, i.e., the fixin’ place?

I got to thinking about that a while ago. And, because my mind works in such a convoluted way, that simple thought gave birth to a book, a novel, which is now available.

It’s called The Fixin’ Place. Shocker, right? And it’s available on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle. You may be able to read it for free on Kindle, if you’re a part of the Kindle Unlimited program. But if not, I’m reducing the price for the next week or so from $4.99 to .99.

I’ve been writing since I was a little bitty guy. My classmates from elementary school on up will attest to that. I was constantly writing short stories and would read them to any willing victims in the bandroom or wherever. I lost just about everything I’d ever written in longhand in a flood in my hometown of Elba, Alabama.

So I’ve tinkered and dabbled and scribbled off and on over the years, and finally, some years ago, I wrote a novel, Reign of Silence. It kind of galumphed along for a while until I made it available on Kindle. I’ll be danged that if within the first week it was available on Kindle it more than tripled the sales I’d had in paperback. That was a for-sure eye opener. I love the heft and feel and smell of a “real” book, but what I learned from that is that content is king, no matter how it’s delivered. Still, I love my visits to the library.

Back to The Fixin’ Place.

It’s not a sequel or prequel to Reign of Silence, although it’s placed in the same fictional town of St. Helena, Alabama. Here’s your cover copy:

Can death be postponed? Or even reversed? Are supernatural healings possible? If an individual had the ability to heal, would there ever be a time when using that gift would be wrong? Does all healing come from God, or can Satan perform counterfeit signs, wonders, and even healings? Thomas Alexander, a 14-year-old boy growing up in the small south Alabama town of St. Helena in 1968, is faced with a series of incidents that cause him to confront these very questions. A new high school teacher, Silas Shepherd, moves to St. Helena and shows more than casual interest in Thomas’ recently widowed mother. It becomes apparent that the charming and winsome Shepherd is not all that he seems to be – elements of a shrouded past and current fixation on the Alexander family trouble Thomas.

Thomas’ rock is his grandmother Lois, who supposedly has the biblical gift of healing – her home is known to townspeople as “the fixin’ place.” So when Shepherd is diagnosed with cancer, Lois Alexander has the opportunity to attempt to cure him. From the story’s first introduction of Silas Shepherd, to the gradual discovery of the truth about him, until the final revelation of Shepherd’s generations-old relationship with the Alexander family and the shocking yet redemptive finale, The Fixin’ Place is a story to both cherish and fear.

That’s a pretty fair synopsis.

I was thinking about that opening statement – can death be postponed? Or even reversed? That’s intriguing. As a person of faith, I recognize that scripturally that death was reversed on more than one occasion. There are, of course, also plenty of accounts of Jesus raising people from the dead, and even more incidences of Him healing others. Do those kinds of miracles happen today?

That’s where all this began. With The Fixin’ Place, I wanted to explore that in a fictional way.

I’ve had writing courses in college, and sometimes they come across as too rote and routine. (I won’t try to make a case that I’m an “artist” and, as such, not bound by tradition and rules [see Dead Poet’s Society for further reference.]) I just like telling a story, and I only have my own sensibilities for direction. Where I may get weird is that I don’t necessarily write with an end in mind. I just have an idea of the story, put my characters in that situation, and just start writing. I’m as intrigued to see what happens as the future reader, because I don’t know how it’s going to end.

That’s kind of freaky. When my mojo’s really working, it’s like I’m just observing what’s going on and trying to get it all in writing. Maybe that’s common among authors. I just don’t plot heavily … I don’t want it to feel plotted.

Birth.

When I was writing Reign of Silence, I was able to write about two-thirds of it in a week. There were some folks in our church that had a farmhouse and were kind enough to let me borrow it for a week. I wrote in a fit. It scared me senseless a couple of times … a couple of nights I barely slept because I heard every noise in the house. And it rattled Teresa when I’d call her after a particularly frenzied writing session to tell her “you’re not going to believe what just happened.” Creepy, yes?

The Fixin’ Place was much the same. There are a handful of passages that I sure didn’t see coming.

Now it’s been loosed on the world, and I wanted to share it with you.

If you’re so inclined, it’s available on sale for this next week on Amazon. I happen to like it (and I don’t always like my handiwork.) I love these kids in it – it’s funny. While I didn’t intend for it to plant so squarely in the tradition of “coming of age” stories, it has. I wasn’t trying consciously to emulate the vibe of books and movies like Stranger Things, It, Stand By Me, The Goonies, etc., but that’s what’s happened. (I’d much rather it feel like To Kill a Mockingbird, but since I’m a mere mortal and not Harper Lee, I’ll have to be content with where it landed.) Actually, it’s closest antecedent is an Alfred Hitchcock movie from 1943, Shadow of a Doubt. That was Hitch’s favorite movie, and it was written by Thornton Wilder, best known for Our Town. At least I borrow from good stuff.

I’d love for you to hang out with Thomas and his pals. He’s full of adolescent angst, but you’ll like him anyway. Hop over to Amazon and get to know them. And, if you want the paperback, order it. If you like, I’ll send you a signed personalized bookplate for you to put inside the cover.

So, that’s The Fixin’ Place. I would be honored if you’d take a look.