Joe Samuel Starnes's Blog

The paperback edition of my novel Fall Line is out today. Thank you to the University of Georgia Press for reissuing through its NewSouth Books imprint. Here's a reprise of the book trailer with the new and improved cover featuring a drawing by Lee Allen Wells.

I’m excitedto announce that Fall Line, my second novel initially published in 2011,will be reissued in paperback in April 2026 by the University of Georgia Pressimprint NewSouth Books. The new edition’s cover features a drawing by my goodfriend and exceptionally talented artist LeeAllen Wells. 
(It is available for preorder at UGA Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, IndieBound, and many other spots where books are sold.)

Lee read themanuscript years ago before it was initially published. His drawing envisionsthe book’s dog, Percy, beside character Elmer Blizzard’s 1950 Chevrolet 3100pickup truck, as well as the new dam around which the story’s plot revolves. I’mthrilled with the cover design that UGA Press put together using Lee’s drawing.

Fall Line earned praise from the AtlantaJournal-Constitution, which called it a “quiet dazzler of a new novel,” in March2012. 

Reviewer Gina Webb wrote: "Ofall the contemporary Southern novels today that draw comparisons to Faulknerand O’Connor, Starnes’ tale may be one of the few that deserves them. Theunsentimental but glorious world seen through the eyes of a “half mutt halfchow” fearful of man and guns is pure Faulkner. Elmer, condemning the bigwigsaround him for “their fondness for impure women and liquor and money and the love of their own images reflected in shiny glass,” echoes the righteous,scathing hatred of Hazel Motes (Wise Blood)."

The novel wasincluded in the paper’s “Year in Review: Best of the South” list later thatyear.

 

Fortune smiled on me in early 2024 while I had time tokill on Tuesday afternoons while my daughter practiced French horn in an honors band. My discoveryof a charming, quirky driving range with a Jersey Devil sign led to my essay, "The Devil at the Driving Range," inthe newest issue of The Golfer’s Journal. The story culminates with myscoring an unexpected par in the dark on No. 18 at Pebble Beach. Youcan read it for free online if you register, but I recommend purchasing the sumptuous print edition.

One behind the scenes detail: Between the time I was at the range in the late winter and when the photographer visited in the summer, the devil sign was repainted on a new piece of plywood. At left is how it looked when I hit it (compare that with the photo in the magazine). And below is the video proof that I did in fact hit it. 

I also have proof that I did play Pebble Beach. See the photo below taken by my brother Dan of me hitting a 3-iron over the 18th green in the dark at Pebble on the way to an unlikely par.

Seventeen years ago I wrote a piece about Willie Nelson's long-running Fourth of July picnics for the New York Times when Willie was a mere 74 years old. Much like his biographer, Joe Nick Patoski, I figured he was near the end of a iconic career. I never dreamed I would be going to see his annual July 4 picnic (in Camden, New Jersey, of all places) in 2024 and writing about. But that's exactly what happened. I very much appreciate The Bitter Southerner including "Stay a Little Longer" in print edition No. 9. I suspect the story will be shared online at some point in the future, and I will share when it is, but for now you can subscribe or buy a print copy. I'm happy to be published in the Bitter Southerner again, where I published a piece about Hank Aaron ten years ago, long before the they had a print edition. I also was fortunate in the writing of this story to connect with Joe Nick, a Texas music writing legend I've long admired.

I reported and wrote "Sanders from Cedartown," analmost 10,000 word piece about Doug Sanders, which appears in the newest issue ofThe Golfer’s Journal. I'm from Cedartown, Georgia myself, which is home to The Doug Sanders Golf Museum, and I know the turf well. He was one of a kind—the only golfer I know of whose many girlfriends included the actress who played Elly May Clampett and who hustled Evel Knievel in gambling.  My story is the longestone the magazine has ever run. An online link is available, but Irecommend buying issue No. 29 to get the print edition.

Leth Oun, Tim Lounibos (the narrator of Leth's audiobook), and I are thrilled to be finalists for the Audie Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars for audiobooks. We are in remarkable company. Winners to be announced March 4. For more, visit lethounbook.com and follow our Facebook feed for regular updates.

I was excited to hear today's Philadelphia Inquirer landing on my lawn this morning as it featured a full page story about Leth Oun's "remarkable life," as writer Rita Giordano describes it.
She writes about A Refugee's American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service , "That one person could go from a little boy too afraid to show fear to a man who protects presidents is an incredible journey by anyone’s standards.” 

Here is the link to the online version, which features additional photographs.

 

From early in my career as a newspaper reporter to freelancing to the last 14 years writing for universities, I’ve been fortunate to write hundreds of profiles of fascinating people from all walks of life. I am particularly blessed that I met Leth Oun at Widener University in 2011 when I wrote a magazine article about him. We stayed in touch and, in 2017, I began working with him to turn his rough draft of his amazing life story into A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service.Today is its official publication day. I want to thank Temple University Press for publishing it, those of you who have bought it, and most importantly, Leth for allowing me to work with him on his important story. It’s an honor to be his coauthor. Please check out lethounbook.com for more information and follow us online for news about the book and announcements about forthcoming events.

An advance Kirkus review posted online today praises Leth Oun’s forthcoming book, A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service, as “A truly heartening story of sheer determination and the will to survive and thrive.” Read the full review. 
It will be released by Temple University Press on February 10. Stay tuned for the announcement of launch events.

It has been an honor and a privilege to be the coauthor of Leth Oun's life story. A Refugee’s American Dream: From the Killing Fields of Cambodia to the U.S. Secret Service will be published by Temple University Press in February 2023.