about the author
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After living in Ankara, Turkey, and Pittsburgh, Gary S. Minder landed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, at the beginning of school desegregation. He is one of nearly six hundred graduates from the powerhouse melting pot of Central High School. Over the years he has called Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Portland home before returning to Tuscaloosa in 2006.
The Education of Asa Paxton is Gary S. Minder's debut novel and the first installment of the Haint Blue Series. |
from the author
Thank you for your interest in reading my first novel The Education of Asa Paxton. I hope that if you enjoy it, you will write an online review and share with your friends.
Much has changed in the Heart of Dixie since this story’s era, yet sights, smells, and personalities of an earlier time remain. Tufts of cotton blow across back roads during harvest season. The acrid scent of coal-fired home furnaces lingers over small towns. Four a.m. meetings of the minds around a spittoon still occur in old-school service stations. Irony rules the day in many small towns; streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. intersect with town squares boasting confederate monuments protected by Alabama’s legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey’s pen.
Juxtaposed to the remnants of yesteryear is the reckoning and reconciliation of Alabama’s dark history. Civil rights trails meander through towns. In Montgomery’s Lynching Memorial and The Legacy Museum, the soil collected from beneath strange fruit trees around the United States reminds all who visit that Alabama is not alone in its original sin. Sights, smells, and people of progress have emerged since the Great Depression. Automobile factories repurposed acres of farmland. Award-winning restaurants make use of local organic produce. Alabama universities produce titans of tech, space exploration, and medical miracles. A vibrant cultural arts community reflects the characteristics and customs of this place.
The best and worst of the Heart of Dixie is anchored by one of the most beautiful and diverse environments in the United States. From the Appalachian foothills in the northeast to Bayou La Batre in the southwest and the sugar sand beaches kissing the Gulf of Mexico—waterfalls, natural springs, and lakes abound. I encourage everyone reading this to explore what Alabama has to offer.
Peace,
Gary
Much has changed in the Heart of Dixie since this story’s era, yet sights, smells, and personalities of an earlier time remain. Tufts of cotton blow across back roads during harvest season. The acrid scent of coal-fired home furnaces lingers over small towns. Four a.m. meetings of the minds around a spittoon still occur in old-school service stations. Irony rules the day in many small towns; streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. intersect with town squares boasting confederate monuments protected by Alabama’s legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey’s pen.
Juxtaposed to the remnants of yesteryear is the reckoning and reconciliation of Alabama’s dark history. Civil rights trails meander through towns. In Montgomery’s Lynching Memorial and The Legacy Museum, the soil collected from beneath strange fruit trees around the United States reminds all who visit that Alabama is not alone in its original sin. Sights, smells, and people of progress have emerged since the Great Depression. Automobile factories repurposed acres of farmland. Award-winning restaurants make use of local organic produce. Alabama universities produce titans of tech, space exploration, and medical miracles. A vibrant cultural arts community reflects the characteristics and customs of this place.
The best and worst of the Heart of Dixie is anchored by one of the most beautiful and diverse environments in the United States. From the Appalachian foothills in the northeast to Bayou La Batre in the southwest and the sugar sand beaches kissing the Gulf of Mexico—waterfalls, natural springs, and lakes abound. I encourage everyone reading this to explore what Alabama has to offer.
Peace,
Gary