Featured New Book: In the Shadows of the Onion Domes by Mary Pat Hyland

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I’m not even sure how Mary Pat Hyland and I met. Over Twitter, I think it was — so for all you who don’t use Twitter to chat and network and make new friends, see what you’re missing out on?

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So let’s get to business: Mary Pat, what song reminds you of your book?

This is a great question, and as part of my promotion for my new
collection of short stories, In the Shadows of the Onion Domes, I already
created a playlist on my facebook page.

This song, “Secret O’ Life” by James Taylor, I linked to the final story
in the book “The Reluctant Magnolia.” That tale is about a woman recently
widowed who is forced to downsize her life, painfully aware of the
downward slide ahead. But I think the universal themes in Taylor’s lyrics
fit all of the stories.

The connecting thread in this collection of eighteen stories is the fact
that they’re all set in the same river valley in Upstate New York. It’s an
area settled by a major influx of European settlers seeking manufacturing
jobs during the first half of the twentieth century. Each group bought
its own perspectives and unique flavor that remains to this day. (There
are many Orthodox churches throughout the valley and their “onion domes”
help define its skyline.)

These stories follow families, college students, couples, friends and the
recently widowed, each presented with the challenges of life, love and the
rapid changes that come with the passage of time. “Einstein said that he
could never understand it all,” Taylor sings.

Each tale has a different treatment. Some are sweet, others tinged with
bitterness, and since these take place in the childhood hometown of writer
Rod Serling, some carry a definite Twilight Zone vibe. Two are sudden
fiction, under five hundred words, and “The Reluctant Magnolia” is
novella-length.

I think of them all as drawings in a sketchbook, trying to capture moments
in this “lovely ride” we call life and reminding us to “enjoy the passage
of time.”

Okay, how about you? I’m fascinated. This sounds like the sort of thing I’d love to read, to savor a story each night before bed… it takes me back to my grad student days, when I was an MFA in creative writing and I read short stories the way, one each night, and thought about it as I went to sleep…

Ahh, the memories. I still remember how that bed felt; it wasn’t the most comfortable thing my money has ever purchased. But still… It was mine!

Back to the collection. Here’s the back cover copy, just in case you need to know more.

By the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers in New York’s
Southern Tier lies a verdant valley called the Triple Cities.

The shoe factories that originally drew thousands of immigrants from
across Europe have long moved on.

What remains are the distinct ethnic flavors of a gritty community
determined to overcome economic woes, adapt to the rapid changes in
society and find true meaning in life.

Consider these stories as pages ripped from a sketchbook. Some are quick
studies; others are more detailed portraits inspired by observed
characters, whispered gossip, overheard conversations and the local lore
of the residents whose neighborhoods are framed by the gilded Orthodox
Church domes that span this valley.

You’ll find that each tale has its own tone: some are humorous or
poignant, others are surprising and haunting.

Pick up a copy!

CreateSpace
Amazon U.S.
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble

The book will be available via Smashwords and other ebook retailers in
late January 2015

(but I don’t wanna wait! Daddy, I want a golden egg NOW.)

Connect with Mary Pat. She’s fun to chat with!

Website
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

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