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Villages
21-year-old Jonas Boulware arrives home to Copernicus, a small southern town. After serving as a medic in the Middle East, where he was severely wounded, Jonas Boulware struggles to keep the memories of the trauma at bay. Now at war with himself, he works to figure out who he has become. His abusive father and disenfranchised mother open old wounds from his youth. Despite this, Jonas takes in (and falls in love with) a down-on-her-luck young folksinger and tries to rescue a teen boy from his dangerous home. Bits and pieces of his wartime trauma intrude in nightmares and flashbacks, until he admits that he suffers from PTSD. With help from friends and an unorthodox counselor, Jonas uncovers secrets from his past that cast hopeful light on his new normal
198 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2025
About the author
Robert Inman
33 books43 followersRobert Inman’s new novel, The Governor’s Lady, is available now from John F. Blair Publishers. Drawing on his a career as a journalist and creative writer, Inman has crafted the story of Cooper Lanier, a determined woman fighting to establish her independence in the tumultuous world of male-dominated politics.
The Governor’s Lady is Inman’s fifth novel, following Home Fires Burning (1987), Old Dogs and Children (1991), Dairy Queen Days (1997), and Captain Saturday (2002), all published originally by Little, Brown and Company, and now available in popular e-book formats. He is also the author of a collection of non-fiction work, Coming Home: Life, Love and All Things Southern, and an illustrated family holiday book, The Christmas Bus.
Inman has written screenplays for six motion pictures for television, two of which have been “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentations. His script for The Summer of Ben Tyler, a Hallmark production, won the Writers’ Guild of America Award as the best original television screenplay of 1997. His other Hallmark feature was Home Fires Burning, a 1989 adaptation of his novel.
Inman’s first stage play, the musical comedy Crossroads, had its world premiere in 2003 at Blowing Rock Stage Company, a professional theatre in Blowing Rock, NC. His playwriting credits also include The Christmas Bus, Dairy Queen Days, Welcome to Mitford, A High Country Christmas Carol, The Christmas Bus: The Musical, and The Drama Club. Inman wrote the book, music and lyrics for Crossroads and The Christmas Bus: The Musical. Inman’s plays are published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
Robert Inman is a native of Elba, Alabama, where he began his writing career in junior high school with his hometown weekly newspaper. He left a 31-year career in television journalism in 1996 to devote full time to fiction writing.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of Alabama with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. He has been selected as Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and was inducted into the Alabama Communication Hall of Fame.
He is a member of the Authors Guild, Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, North Carolina Writers Conference, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alabama Writers Forum.
Inman and his wife, Paulette, live in Conover and Boone, North Carolina. They have two daughters: Larkin Ferris of Breckenridge, CO; and Lee Farabaugh of Atlanta.
Author's web site: www.robert-inman.com.
The Governor’s Lady is Inman’s fifth novel, following Home Fires Burning (1987), Old Dogs and Children (1991), Dairy Queen Days (1997), and Captain Saturday (2002), all published originally by Little, Brown and Company, and now available in popular e-book formats. He is also the author of a collection of non-fiction work, Coming Home: Life, Love and All Things Southern, and an illustrated family holiday book, The Christmas Bus.
Inman has written screenplays for six motion pictures for television, two of which have been “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentations. His script for The Summer of Ben Tyler, a Hallmark production, won the Writers’ Guild of America Award as the best original television screenplay of 1997. His other Hallmark feature was Home Fires Burning, a 1989 adaptation of his novel.
Inman’s first stage play, the musical comedy Crossroads, had its world premiere in 2003 at Blowing Rock Stage Company, a professional theatre in Blowing Rock, NC. His playwriting credits also include The Christmas Bus, Dairy Queen Days, Welcome to Mitford, A High Country Christmas Carol, The Christmas Bus: The Musical, and The Drama Club. Inman wrote the book, music and lyrics for Crossroads and The Christmas Bus: The Musical. Inman’s plays are published by Dramatic Publishing Company.
Robert Inman is a native of Elba, Alabama, where he began his writing career in junior high school with his hometown weekly newspaper. He left a 31-year career in television journalism in 1996 to devote full time to fiction writing.
He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of Alabama with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees. He has been selected as Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, and was inducted into the Alabama Communication Hall of Fame.
He is a member of the Authors Guild, Writers Guild of America, Dramatists Guild, PEN American Center, North Carolina Writers Conference, North Carolina Writers Network, and Alabama Writers Forum.
Inman and his wife, Paulette, live in Conover and Boone, North Carolina. They have two daughters: Larkin Ferris of Breckenridge, CO; and Lee Farabaugh of Atlanta.
Author's web site: www.robert-inman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 6, 2025
Although I sometimes struggle to stay awake while reading novels, Robert Inman's Villages is a rare exception- it captures your attention from the first page.
The story possesses an irresistible allure, a magnetic pull that makes it impossible to put down.
The central character, twenty-one-year-old Jonas Boulware, along with a well-developed supporting cast—including his mother, Gladys; his father, Rodney; his mentor and savior, Doc Frank Ainsley; his friend, the Lieutenant; his girlfriend, Lyric; and Ben, a young boy he tries to help from a dysfunctional family—feel remarkably realistic. Their struggles and triumphs mirror our own, making them deeply relatable.
Each character plays a crucial role in his life, interweaving a complex network of relationships that shape his journey. The plot unfolds with depth and intrigue, drawing you further into the world Inman has so skillfully created.
This type of book doesn't just captivate your thoughts; it tugs at your heartstrings and lingers in your mind long after you've closed it.
Home should bring comfort, but for Jonas, it brings ghosts. Scarred by war and burdened by memories, his return to the quiet town of Copernicus is anything but peaceful.
Family ties are frayed by worry and the weight of unspoken things, the hidden truths lurking beneath the surface like unresolved secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
Changed by experience yet returning to a place that remains largely the same, Jonas finds himself confronting shifting family dynamics shaped by long-held secrets.
No longer the person he once was, he is broken, hesitant, and grappling with guilt and loss in ways that feel painfully real. Haunted by memories of the battlefield, he struggles with PTSD.
As a former combat medic, he now faces a different kind of war—one filled with past regrets, uneasy reunions, and the haunting silence of a place that no longer feels like home.
The complexities of his past are revealed through his relationship with his mother, Gladys, whose family once owned a thriving plant that employed many in the town before her first husband's crime led to its closure.
But what Jonas doesn't yet know is that there are darker secrets about his mother's past, which threaten to surface at the most inopportune moments.
His father, Rodney, carries his burden of regrets and unspoken truths that complicate Jonas's already fragile sense of self.
His bond with Doc, a compassionate doctor who becomes both a mentor and a saviour, offers a glimmer of hope. Still, even he holds pieces of the past that Jonas is not ready to hear. Doc's unwavering support becomes a beacon of light in Jonas's darkest moments, providing medical care and a more profound healing that transcends the physical and reaches the soul.
Jonas's friendship with the Lieutenant, forged in the heat of war, is one of the few stable relationships he has left. Still, even that bond is tested by the weight of their shared experiences.
This story is more than a homecoming—it's about forging a new life in the ruins of the old, in a town that no longer feels familiar, while uncovering buried family secrets poised to alter everything Jonas thought he knew.
If you're drawn to raw, real, and deeply human stories, Villages will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.
It's a book that offers both heartache and healing and will undoubtedly resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find their place in the world or has been touched by the secrets that bind us all. Don't miss the opportunity to experience this unforgettable narrative.
Follow Here https://is.gd/MteTuZ To Read Norm's Interview With Robert Inman
The story possesses an irresistible allure, a magnetic pull that makes it impossible to put down.
The central character, twenty-one-year-old Jonas Boulware, along with a well-developed supporting cast—including his mother, Gladys; his father, Rodney; his mentor and savior, Doc Frank Ainsley; his friend, the Lieutenant; his girlfriend, Lyric; and Ben, a young boy he tries to help from a dysfunctional family—feel remarkably realistic. Their struggles and triumphs mirror our own, making them deeply relatable.
Each character plays a crucial role in his life, interweaving a complex network of relationships that shape his journey. The plot unfolds with depth and intrigue, drawing you further into the world Inman has so skillfully created.
This type of book doesn't just captivate your thoughts; it tugs at your heartstrings and lingers in your mind long after you've closed it.
Home should bring comfort, but for Jonas, it brings ghosts. Scarred by war and burdened by memories, his return to the quiet town of Copernicus is anything but peaceful.
Family ties are frayed by worry and the weight of unspoken things, the hidden truths lurking beneath the surface like unresolved secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
Changed by experience yet returning to a place that remains largely the same, Jonas finds himself confronting shifting family dynamics shaped by long-held secrets.
No longer the person he once was, he is broken, hesitant, and grappling with guilt and loss in ways that feel painfully real. Haunted by memories of the battlefield, he struggles with PTSD.
As a former combat medic, he now faces a different kind of war—one filled with past regrets, uneasy reunions, and the haunting silence of a place that no longer feels like home.
The complexities of his past are revealed through his relationship with his mother, Gladys, whose family once owned a thriving plant that employed many in the town before her first husband's crime led to its closure.
But what Jonas doesn't yet know is that there are darker secrets about his mother's past, which threaten to surface at the most inopportune moments.
His father, Rodney, carries his burden of regrets and unspoken truths that complicate Jonas's already fragile sense of self.
His bond with Doc, a compassionate doctor who becomes both a mentor and a saviour, offers a glimmer of hope. Still, even he holds pieces of the past that Jonas is not ready to hear. Doc's unwavering support becomes a beacon of light in Jonas's darkest moments, providing medical care and a more profound healing that transcends the physical and reaches the soul.
Jonas's friendship with the Lieutenant, forged in the heat of war, is one of the few stable relationships he has left. Still, even that bond is tested by the weight of their shared experiences.
This story is more than a homecoming—it's about forging a new life in the ruins of the old, in a town that no longer feels familiar, while uncovering buried family secrets poised to alter everything Jonas thought he knew.
If you're drawn to raw, real, and deeply human stories, Villages will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.
It's a book that offers both heartache and healing and will undoubtedly resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find their place in the world or has been touched by the secrets that bind us all. Don't miss the opportunity to experience this unforgettable narrative.
Follow Here https://is.gd/MteTuZ To Read Norm's Interview With Robert Inman
June 24, 2025
DNF- didn’t like. Too much bad language
January 11, 2026
Started it and couldn’t put it down.
September 5, 2026
A surprising read that was deeply moving. I’m pulling for Jonas. Write a sequel!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews