BEGINNING WITH CANNONBALLS
A Novel By Jill McCroskey Coupe
She Writes Press
Publication date: May 26, 2020;
Fiction; ISBN: 978-1-63152-848-4, 5 1⁄2 x 8 1⁄2,
Trade paperback, 232 pages,
$16.95 E-book
ISBN: 978-1-63152-849-1, $9.95
Description:
“This lyric novel is a gorgeous mosaic, fragmented in a way that lets the
reader into the gaps in order to complete the meaning, to connect the
narrative dots. Beginning with Cannonballs reminds me of an Alice Munro
story, one that looks at people’s lives over decades, like catching them
in snapshots, so we can see how they relate to the people they once
were. Jill McCroskey Coupe is one savvy, irresistible, and fearless writer.”
—John Dufresne, author of I Don’t Like Where This Is Going
“The book takes on important and timeless issues of race, racism, and
cultural shifts in America.”—Centered on Books
“...a thoughtful novel about the meaning of friendship...”—Booksies
“Beginning with Cannonballs spans fifty years in a poignant yet difficult
friendship. Through each episode, each explosive cannonball, the novel takes
an unstinting and courageous look at how societal forces can seek
to destroy the truth that lies beneath the surface of our skin: that we are
all sisters and brothers at heart.”
—J.E. Irvin, author of The Dark End of the Rainbow and The
Strange Disappearance of Rose Stone
“Jill McCroskey Coupe’s compelling story of an unlikely friendship in
the segregated South is unforgettable. Hanna and Gail’s struggle to
defy the odds of racism and social status is truly one of hope. Such
lovely and deft writing from a masterful storyteller. A must read.”—
Kim Bradley, short story writer and Assistant Professor of English, Flagler College
In the 1940s, in segregated Knoxville, Tennessee, Gail (white) and Hann
a (black) shared a crib in Gail’s parents’ house, where Hanna’s mother,
Sophie, was the live-in maid. When the girls were four, Sophie taught them
to swim, and soon they were gleefully doing cannonballs off the diving
board, playing a game they'd invented based on their favorite Billie Holiday
song.
By the time they’re both in college, however, the two friends have lost
touch with each other. A reunion in Washington, DC, sought by Gail but
resented by Hanna, sets the tone for their relationship from then on.
Marriage, children, and a tragic death further strain the increasingly
fragile bond. How much longer can the friendship last?
Jill McCroskey Coupe’s first job was gathering (collating) in her father’s
printing plant in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the foothills of the Great Smoky
Mountains. A former librarian at Johns Hopkins University, she has an MFA in
Fiction from Warren Wilson College, located in the heart of the Blue Ridge. The
Southern Appalachians will always feel like home to her, but so does Baltimore,
where she has lived for more than thirty years. Her first novel was TRUE STORIES
AT THE SMOKY VIEW (She Writes Press). Her new novel, BEGINNING
WITH CANNONBALLS, is due out from She Writes Press in May 2020.
Find her online at jillmcoupe.com Buy Links:
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