by Harmonye Yonge
When Andy and his best friend are caught up in the turmoil of changes in the coalfields in the middle of the twentieth century, they take extremely different routes to improving means of extracting coal from the earth-one through mechanization and the other through unionization-and become bitter enemies. This is the story of coal miners-their lives, loves, hopes, dreams and deaths. Josh loves Ellen, his wonderful little schoolmate with the crossed eyes, and he promises her that they will always be together. He leaves his depressed area, seeking a better life. But he keeps returning to the shadow of the Stoneface landmark. Each time he is drawn back, a more powerful force drives him to leave again. Ellen grows into a beautiful woman, and she and Josh keep running in and out of each others lives for decades; sharing happiness, tragedy, and family problems, while getting caught up in that great migration to northern cities. Young Reverend Hawk, an ex-soldier and ex-drunk with a shameful past, finds romance and rancor in the Bible Belt, when he is assigned, against his will, to return to the hometown he dislikes, to take over a problematical church. He is startled to learn that all of his predecessors have died strangely. So he must race against time to unravel all the mysteries before he becomes the next victim.ABOUT THE AUTHORHarmonye Yonge, a writer who is an astute observer of the human condition, and an editor and publisher with a background in police work, business management and college teaching, produces stories based on real life experiences.(2010, paperback, 644 pages)
