Holler

by Allie Ray

Eliza was always taught that when a varmint scampers into the house, you shoot it---and that's just what she intends to do to Llewellyn Jackson the night he breaks into her kitchen. A former bootlegger and outlaw, Llewellyn is reviled as the black sheep of their holy-rolling town. And Eliza has little patience for sinners. But when Llewellyn confesses he is in love with her, the night takes an unexpected turn toward temptation. Angry and ashamed, Eliza intends to keep her night with Llewellyn a secret. Her determination only grows stronger when the man she secretly loves, James Sutton, returns to write a novel about the holler---using Eliza as his muse. Convinced James loves her at last, Eliza puts Llewellyn out of her mind. But Llewellyn Jackson is not so easy deterred. And deeds done in the dark are not without consequence. When her night with Llewellyn proves more troublesome than she anticipated, Eliza is forced to choose between her love for James, and salvaging her dignity. In the holler, both come at a high cost.

273 pages, Hardcover

Published July 27, 2022

About the author

Allie Ray is an author, educator and librarian from the little rural town of Osceola, Nebraska. She earned her BA in English from Concordia University — Seward, Nebraska, with minors in creative writing and theater arts. She is the author of HOLLER, INHERITANCE, SUFFERING FOOLS, CHILDREN OF PROMISE, and two one-act plays. She currently lives in her hometown with her daughters.

Reviews

[Allie Ray McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLLER is a story very dear to me. What started as a short story written as a gift to an old friend simply would not leave me alone until the story was seen through.

Drawn from my experiences growing up in a small town, as well as my experience living in Little Rock, Arkansas working at a hospital that brought patients from all over the Arkansas hills, HOLLER is probably my sweetest and ultimately happiest story so far.

As someone who isn’t much of a fan of traditional romances, HOLLER reads differently from typical genre fiction. But, like any good Southern gothic, the tone is both hopeful and melancholic; bitter, but sweet. A story of old love, new love, broken love, and redeemed love; passion, sacrifice, and starting again.