Title: Every Pane
of Glass
Author: H.B.
Stumbo
Release Date:
June 1, 2016
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Several miles south of
Devil’s Lake, Michigan, lies a town whose charm is trumped by its
name. Devil Town may be beautiful and unique, but it offers no remorse for
locals who have left the city limits. Val Stevens is a local born and raised,
and after an eight year hiatus, she’s come back to town to stir up
some old flames. Cracked like glass from life’s quirky twists of
fate, Val keeps to herself and wards off the local “Devilers”,
like a bad disease. But even someone as fiery as Val, can’t deny the
appeal of a friendship with an intriguing stranger, or the ghosts of her
past.
With the help of Anderson Pane,
Devil Town’s newest resident, Val unearths pieces of herself she has
lost along the way, while chipping away at the edges of those who caused her to
shatter. She quickly learns that in order to face her future, she needs to
forget everything she thought she knew about her past. A task which proves to
be equal parts shocking and
healing.
Can Val walk among the shards
of who she was in order to find out she is? In a place where secrets run deeper
than the depth of Devil’s Lake itself, the answer bubbles to the
surface, in a twisted turn of events, history, love, and even
death.
There’s this saying in
Devil Town…
I’m sure most small
towns have a tagline, or a saying that the residents chime and the outsiders
don’t understand. It’s probably just part of small town
living. Keeps things just secretive enough, yet still allows a little room for
explanation.
For
us Devilers though, we live by a few short words. “Once a Deviler,
always a Deviler.” Basically it’s as clear as glass. You
don’t get away from places like Devil Town. It stiffens your drink
and tucks you in at night. It’s in your blood. It clots you. It keeps
you. It beckons you back. It’s a powerful place and boasts a powerful
hold on your heart. Even if you get away from it, you’re
never really away, and you’ll
always come back. People always end up back in places they don’t want
to be. Always.
I’m a Deviler, and
I’ve been
beckoned.
I swirled the plastic drinking
glass in my hands as I tried to come to terms with going back. Devil Town. What
a cheery name. Let’s get something straight off the bat. I
didn’t choose the name of the place I grew up in. It chose me. If I
would have had something to do with it, I would have chosen something much different
than Devil Town. But Michigan was a vast state full of questionable decisions.
One of those decisions is why would they name a series of lakes that spread
across the countryside, Devil’s Lake? And why on Earth would they
choose to name one of the towns that borders those lakes, Devil Town? And who
are they?
I didn’t have time to
worry about history, because the pilot informed the entire congregation on
flight 7801 from LaGuardia to Detroit, that we would begin making our descent
into the city soon. It was time to finish our drinks. The tiny stewardess with
the trash bag implied that. I don’t recommend ever chugging a gin and
tonic, but drastic times call for drastic measures. That being said, I also
don’t recommend wasting a gin and tonic either. I winced at the
burning sensation left in my gut by the tonic water and noticed the long-haired
woman sitting next to me wince, as well. Maybe it was the gin that left the
burning sensation, or maybe it was the impending truth that I was returning to
the one place I swore I’d never come back
to.
Possibly a little bit of
both.
Hayley, (HB Stumbo) resides on a
dairy farm in Ohio, with her husband and fur children. She's easily
excitable and slightly loud, but she's a Leo so that's just how
it is. She loves words, good stories, and often gets sucked into books with
ease. When she isn't writing stories, she enjoys cooking, seeing the
world, drinking Vodka and Tonics, and live indie-folk music. She wants you to
know that Tom Petty is the greatest American musician of all time, and she was
likely born in the wrong era. Hayley is the author of two other novels, and has
a half dozen more ideas in her head. She can found online at www.hbstumbowrites.com, and is also active on Instagram,
Facebook, and sometimes Twitter. She loves meeting new people and connecting
with strangers, so feel free to look her
up!
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