First published 2023
Charlotte Turner watches her quiet Ozarks village of Daybreak transform when her son Adam writes a bestselling novel called The Hill-Billies of Heaven Holler. The book's success brings unwanted attention to their community, but Adam pushes further. He creates a hillbilly exhibit for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, turning their neighbors into tourist attractions. What begins as literary fame spirals into something darker. The fair brings exoticism and greed, drawing Charlotte, her granddaughter Petey, and the entire town into dangerous territory. Violence erupts both at home in Daybreak and at the fair itself. A brutal murder shatters any remaining illusions about their newfound celebrity. Charlotte faces impossible choices as she struggles to protect Petey and save what remains of her beloved community. The collision between country and city threatens everything she holds dear.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Daybreak, Ozarks, St. Louis
Period: 1904
290 pages · Kindle Edition · Blank Slate Press