Nothing much ever happens in Falling Rock, Kentucky. So when Virginia Lemmons' husband takes off in his Trans Am to take up with a beautician, there's not much to do but what people in rural Kentucky have always done - get on with it. Now, overwhelmed and unsure, Virginia's got her hands full trying to keep it together, body and soul, while raising her two teenage kids - eighteen-year-old son, Will, and her spirited fourteen-year-old daughter, Shannon.But Shannon has her own ideas for breaking free of Falling Rock, and in her reckless, wild-child daughter, Virginia sees echoes of herself and her own painful past. She'll do whatever it takes to keep her daughter from making the same tragic mistakes, and saving what's left of her fragile family just may be the biggest fight of Virginia's life.In this compelling, heartbreaking first novel, Janna McMahan brings to authentic life the dreams, passions, and troubles of one southern town, where choice isn't always easy to come by, and living the hand you're dealt with is a grace all its own.
Janna McMahan's debut novel, CALLING HOME, was a "Need to Read" selection in Target Stores across the nation. It received high praise from critics and readers alike for action-packed plot, lively, well-developed characters and detailed Kentucky culture and landscape.
Her second novel, THE OCEAN INSIDE, set along the South Carolina coast, was nominated as the Southern Independent Bookseller Association's Book of the Year. Publisher's Weekly found it "vividly drawn." PW writes, "McMahan's descriptions of the Lowcountry and its unique climate and customs jump off the page."
In November 2009 McMahan's novella, "Decorations" was included in the holiday anthology SNOW ANGELS, a New York Times, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestseller.
McMahan's short fiction has won numerous awards and been published in journals, magazines and newspapers. Most recently her unpublished short story collection, SURFACE TENSION, was selected as a finalist for the Flannery O'Connor Fiction Award.
She has also published many dozen personal essays and articles on visual and literary art. Her most recent essay, "The Worst Bad Neighbor," is included in the anthology WE ALL LIVE DOWNSTREAM by Motes Books.
McMahan gives public readings of her work and often speaks about the business of writing and publishing. For more information on this intriguing new author, or to request a speaking engagement, visit: www.JannaMcMahan.com.
Follow this author on www.facebook.com/jannamcmahan (Janna McMahan fan page) and at http://twitter.com/#!/JannaMc
