Visit the West Texas town of Acorn! Enjoy the German festival, a high school football game, homemade apple pie from the Turner Street Café, and the cool shade of a hundred-year-old oak tree. Meet dedicated teachers, unusual artists, shrewd business owners, closeted gays, and concerned neighbors. See how lives become intertwined in moments of humor or tragedy. Just be careful, because in Acorn, the sky is always falling!
From romantic comedy to razor-sharp satire to moments of quiet reflection, Duane Simolke’s award-winning tales transform a fictional West Texas town into a tapestry of human experiences.
"The town is Acorn, Texas, and it is a representation of all of the tiny places, or wide places in the road that dot America."
"The characters and their tales feel real, as does the town. And the stories feel real to a small town because of the atmosphere that one becomes a part of there that would never occur in a bigger city."
“A lush tangle of small-town life branches out in this engrossing collection of short stories.”
"Each of Simolke’s stories lets us look into the lives of some of the most interesting characters I have ever read about."
"Growing up in a small town I could relate to some of the characters. Duane gives you just enough details that you get a feel for where each of the characters are coming from."
