Stories in a new book of fiction by Joseph F. Persinger could hardly be more varied.
One tells of a woman trapped in an abusive marriage in a remote cabin on the Indiana frontier. Another centers on a “miracle” that occurs during a Christmas pageant at an elementary school during the Great Depression. And in the title story, “Henry and the Night Sky,” a meek bank clerk undergoes a dramatic change in personality after he begins to study the movement of planets and other objects in the night sky.
“Henry and the Night Sky and Other Stories” is available now at the Magic of Books Bookstore and Jackson County Visitor Center, both in Seymour. It is also available on Amazon.com.
Other stories in the collection include “The Dreamer,” “Luther’s Love,” “Roller Rink Ruby,” “Big Break,” “Darkroom,” and “No Redemption.” The nine tales are published for the first time in this edition.
For nearly 50 years, Persinger made his living as a journalist, writing non-fiction news and feature articles for newspapers in southern Indiana. That included serving as a reporter and news editor at the Seymour Tribune and later as editor, managing editor, and — eventually — owner/publisher of The Banner in Brownstown.
Stories in the new anthology were written at various times throughout the decades, starting when the author was still in his teens and continuing until the present.
“I’m not a prolific writer,” Persinger admits, “although I have actually begun to produce more fiction since retiring from newspaper writing. As a journalist I had to sit down and write every day whether I felt like it or not, whether I was ‘inspired’ or not — there were deadlines that had to be met. In that respect, it was good training. So six of the nine stories selected for this book were written in the last three or four years.”
Persinger said most of his stories are “deeply rooted in my lifelong fascination with the people, language, and folklore of rural small town America.” Local readers also may recognize some of the locations in the stories.
He is also the author of “The View from Poverty Ridge,” a collection of essays and color photographs of southern Indiana landscapes. It is available at Xlibris.com.
Cover photograph for the book was provided by local “astrophotographer” Forrest Willey of Cortland and depicts a solitary figure staring up into the night sky and the Milky Way. “It couldn’t be more perfect if he had taken it specifically for this,” Persinger said.
