Jonah: From Jaws of Great Fish Comes the Last Confederate

by Steve Johnson

In the deepest mud at the bottom of the Tennessee River a great fish stirs. Awakened by a heat wave, worst since the Civil War, it moves toward the surface, starved for water richer in oxygen.

Grayish-green from nose to tail, the mysterious fish crawls up on the bank and yawns and from its massive jaws comes the last Confederate, a man of honor in a dishonorable world. Naked and afraid, Jonah isn't too happy with what he finds but he doesn't mind setting a few things straight - if he can.

General Wheeler has taught him well and he wouldn't want to disappoint the general or his daughter - the woman he loves, his darling Evangeline. A man with a mission, Jonah's back in uniform - one "borrowed" on a clandestine "visit" to the Wheeler museum along with a sword and pistol - and he's ready to ride.

Jonah on smart phones: "I can't imagine what's in those little glass bricks that's so interesting people want to peer into them all day."

Jonah on NFL players protesting: "Why are those slaves kneeling like that? Are they waiting to be punished? They're wearing gold chains so they must have rich masters."

Jonah on Black Lives Matter: "Don't all lives matter? I thought we learned that at Shiloh." Jonah learns more about the Black Lives Matter movement when he helps and befriends Bud Knight, a black man beaten and wounded at a rally around the Emma Sansom statue in Gadsden, Alabama.

Jonah on generals Wheeler and Forrest: "Their men would follow them inside the gates of hell to do battle with the devil himself but those two never did get along - too much jealousy."

Jonah on the Rebel yell: "It can't be bought, sold or imitated. When it comes time to ride out from the trees onto the battlefield and you don't know whether you're going to live or die, it comes from somewhere deep within the heart of any man born south of the Mason-Dixon line."

Jonah on Civil War letters: "We wrote them to our ladies right before battle to let them know we love them and we shed tears only moments before we shed blood."

Jonah on honor: "A man of honor is an army of one."

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184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2017

About the author

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Reviews

[Steve Johnson]

Caution! This is a fish story, so it's full of lies. Everyone knows all fishermen are liars, right? I wrote this book not long after I wrote a very serious book involving the death of a main character based on my mother. I needed to write something that was more fun. I noticed that some people like to read stories that are way out there. Stories about vampires, werewolves and various other monsters. I didn’t want to write about those supernatural creatures. But I thought it might be fun to dip one foot into the supernatural pond. I came up with a story about a soldier from the Civil War coming back from a suspended state at the bottom of the Tennessee River. A great fish that swallowed him over 150 years ago spits him out. You don't think anything like that could ever happen? Think very carefully about that. His name just happens to be Jonah. He is the last Confederate. He finds himself trapped in a modern world. He is searching for his lost love, his beloved Evangeline. He doesn't understand everything he sees. Neither do the people who see him. Jonah is mounted up on a stolen horse. He's ready to ride. You come, too!