Under the Moon in Illinois
Kipling Knox
- A
- riveting
- collection
- of
- contemporary
- ghost
- stories,
- with
- interconnected
- plots
- that
- lead
- to
- a
- dramatic
- ending...Welcome
- to
- the
- fictional
- town
- of
- Middling,
- Illinois,
- where
- ghosts
- conspire
- to
- redeem
- a
- troubled
- community.
- Combining
- social
- satire
- with
- humor
- and
- tragedy,
- these
- interconnected
- stories
- explore
- the
- challenges
- we
- face
- in
- an
- anxious
- time.
- We
- follow
- a
- cast
- of
- midwestern
- characters,
- dead
- and
- alive:
- a
- brave
- woman
- journalist,
- an
- earnest
- criminal,
- a
- corrupt
- pastor,
- awkward
- teen-agers,
- doomed
- newlyweds,
- a
- phantom
- hitchhiker,
- and
- time-traveling
- professors.
- At
- times
- dark
- and
- chilling,
- these
- tales
- are
- inherently
- hopeful.Winner
- of
- the
- Chris
- O'Malley
- Prize
- in
- Fiction,
- the
- Wild
- Women
- Award
- from
- Tulip
- Tree,
- and
- two-time
- finalist
- for
- the
- Tobias
- Wolff
- Award.
- Stories
- from
- this
- collection
- have
- been
- published
- or
- recognized
- by
- the
- Madison
- Review,
- Narrative
- Magazine,
- the
- TulipTree
- Review,
- the
- Bellingham
- Review,
- and
- the
- Whitefish
- Review.PRAISE
- FOR
- UNDER
- THE
- MOON
- IN
- ILLINOIS..."These
- concentrated
- gems
- of
- fiction
- take
- you
- to
- a
- landscape
- that
- might
- feel,
- at
- first,
- like
- small-town
- America—cornfields
- and
- chickens,
- sanctimonious
- pastors
- and
- protective
- mothers,
- high
- school
- kids
- and
- dating
- hijinks.
- It
- feels
- normal—but
- preternaturally
- normal,
- because
- this
- is
- Kipling
- Knox
- country,
- aka
- Middling,
- IL,
- and
- the
- crust
- is
- thin.
- Anywhere
- you
- step,
- you
- might
- break
- through
- into
- a
- deeper
- reality
- that
- can
- be
- frightening.
- But
- these
- are
- not
- horror
- stories.
- What
- haunts
- you
- in
- Middling
- is
- the
- emotional
- intensity
- that
- arises
- from
- loss
- and
- longing,
- from
- the
- knowledge
- that
- nothing
- lasts
- and
- nothing
- goes
- away."
-
- author
- and
- lecturer
- Tamim
- Ansary"These
- interconnected
- stories,
- tied
- to
- a
- specific
- locale,
- fit
- in
- the
- tradition
- established
- by
- Poe,
- Hawthorne,
- and
- Washington
- Irving.
- Not
- just
- a
- compelling
- collection
- of
- ghost
- stories,
- this
- book
- challenges
- the
- reader
- to
- understand
- an
- original
- take
- on
- the
- afterlife.
- The
- ghost
- world
- of
- Middling
- has
- an
- important
- ethical
- dimension,
- with
- rules
- and
- consequences.
- This
- spirit
- world
- visibly
- manifests
- the
- history
- of
- loss,
- in
- America,
- stretching
- back
- through
- ruined
- farms
- and
- all
- the
- animal
- species—mastodons,
- passenger
- pigeons—we
- have
- driven
- to
- extinction.
- The
- small
- picture—of
- Middling—is
- also
- the
- large
- picture."-
- author,
- critic,
- and
- editor
- Elaine
- Palencia"This
- collection
- of
- stories
- twisted
- my
- imagination
- in
- unexpected
- ways,
- creating
- lasting
- impressions
- of
- a
- vivid
- world.
- Kipling
- paints
- a
- canvas
- of
- characters
- you
- might
- recognize
- from
- next
- door.
- But
- beware:
- these
- are
- not
- ordinary
- people.
- The
- characters
- of
- this
- world
- look
- into
- their
- souls
- and
- beg
- the
- reader
- to
- ask
- why
- we
- are
- here
- and
- what
- our
- purpose
- should
- be.
- I
- love
- a
- good
- ghost
- story,
- and
- these
- tales
- did
- not
- disappoint!"
-
- Halo
- co-creator
- Marcus Lehto
