Ollie Deaton & the Breathitt County Silver Mine

Description

Ollie Deaton & the Breathitt County Silver Mine by Ronald R. Van Stockum, Jr.

Art by Steven P. Eilers

“Fans of Ronald R. Van Stockum Jr. and his curious characters will be anxious to read his latest short story, “Ollie Deaton and the Breathitt County Silver Mine.” A result of the author’s capricious imagination, this short piece of mixed genre writing swings from scientifically based senarios to playful holiday fancy. It features a family in the Eastern Kentucky Mountains, the Miller Branch Deaton family, who have, according to legend, originated Santa Claus, the sleigh, reindeer, and Christmas gift giving. Written at times in the natural vernacular of the mountain people, and just as quickly slipping into the jargon of a scientist or human ecologist, the voice in the story enchants. Readers will take delight in this short but thoroughly charming adventure.” -Mary Popham

Mary Popham holds an MFA from Spalding University. Her fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays and book reviews have appeared in The Courier-Journal; LEO; New Southerner; Appalachian Heritage; and The Louisville Review.