Where the River Splits

by Jeffrey Penn May

Overview

David and Susan Brooks canoe in the Canadian wilderness in an effort to save their marriage. Their canoe capsizes leaving them stranded on opposite sides of the river, believing the other dead. David discovers his wife has survived. Satisfied she is okay, he decides not to reveal himself. As Susan copes with his "death," David begins a new life in the Wyoming. But can anyone really start over?

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011065859
Publisher:	Jeffrey Penn May
Publication date:	07/01/2010
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	282 KB

About the Author

Jeffrey Penn May has won several short fiction awards. His story “The Wells Creek Route” received a Pushcart Prize nomination, and his novel Where the River Splits, an excellent review in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Merging his outdoor interests with his writing, Jeff has published mountain climbing articles, short stories and poems. He has also written education articles and technical writing guides. His work has appeared in the US, UK, and Canada. He wrote and performed a short story for Washington University Radio and was a consultant to a St. Louis theatre company. After earning his a B.A. in English and Psychology, a Masters in Secondary Education, and a Writer’s Certificate from the University of Missouri, Jeff worked as a waiter, hotel security officer, credit manager, deck hand, technical data engineer, creative writing instructor, and English teacher. He was the principal of a small alternative school where he organized a fund-raising, climbing expedition and appeared in television and radio spotlights. Born at Fort Ord near Monterey, California, and raised in St. Louis, Jeff comes from a family of all boys and has always been compelled to explore the outdoors, leading to many questionable “vacations.” His adventures include, but are not limited to the following: floated a home-built wood and barrel raft from St. Louis to Memphis, navigated a John boat to New Orleans, drove an old Volkswagen alone 8000 miles around the west, spent a month in a dirt floor shack in west-central Mexico digging for Pre-Colombian artifacts, climbed mountains from Alaska to South America, and spent several days in the Amazon jungle. Jeff teaches writing and fly-fishing and so far, he has survived more than twenty years of marriage and two teenagers.

Editorial Reviews

Discussing the plot further would spoil the suspense, suffice it to say that the journey to the end of the novel is never boring… The scenes set in rural Wyoming feature the geography as much as the characters. Locales in Canada and Mexico also figure into the plot. Still, the story keeps coming back to St. Louis, which should add to its appeal for local readers.

Steve Weinberg

One of those novels I look for, but rarely find. You don't just read it, you inhabit it--the characters, the locales, the marriage that is both complex and fragile. May's first book is one he should be proud of, a mystery, compelling you to press on, suspense building all the while thanks to fluid writing with generous details. Where the River Splits will carry you effortlessly to the climax, and beyond.

Robin T