Synopses & Reviews
Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life? Pay a visit to Ekeland County, nestled in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Attend a baseball game, grab a burger at Wimple's Diner, or take a hike to the swimmer's paradise at Blue Lake. If you are searching for cultural hotspots, tour the historic county seat of Almsville, the monastery in neighboring Bordeaux, or the campus of Upper Valley University. Stay as long as you like, but do not be too nosey. Be warned: the bus service is spotty, too many people have keys to your locks, and if you want mail, you have to send it to yourself. Don't drive or swim at night, don't ask why there are immigrants in the trunk, and never question why sick people go to church instead of the hospital. The stories in this collection show why the idyllic isn't always ideal. A brawl in the middle of a baseball game gives you the first insight into a community where lions are killed in their cages, snakes outnumber ducks in the local duck ponds, and you never read about crime, even when it happens. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Wendell Shank is a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. He pays his bills speaking Spanish for Harrisonburg City Public Schools and is currently at work on his own novel and a sequel to Ekeland County. Austin Jenkins is also a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. He pays his bills working for a heartless multi-national coffee conglomerate and hopes to someday be personally involved in the deforestation of our planet. He is presently working on the sequel to Ekeland County and numerous side projects he will make up later.
Synopsis
Ekeland County, nestled in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, seems idyllic. But the bus service is spotty; one should never drive or swim at night, and never question why sick people go to church instead of the hospital.