By MJ Polk
Polk Knoll - A Collection of Short Stories
This is a compilation of the first short stories I’ve published. The name, Polk Knoll, comes from a hand burned wooden plaque that hung above the bookshelf in my grandparents den — a plaque that proudly announced my Papa’s claim on his little hill.
Knoll is defined as a small, low, natural hill or mound of earth.
I primarily write Auto-Fiction, but you’ll find a variety of styles in the following pages. And though this is but one of a number of books I’ll publish this year, this collection of stories is very special to me. It’s hard to explain the feeling of pressing the publish button for the first time — it’s exciting, and scary to put your work out there for others to read!
By Southern Writers Guild
Porch Tales -Vol. One
You are entering the archives of the Guild, a topsy-turvy land of enchanted pies, misbehaving hot air balloons, random trucknappings, and judgmental stuffed poultry. A mysterious cooler and an assortment of memorable vehicles.
Join the trio of lovable misfits as they travel across the Sunny Southland of the US, shouting “yes” to whatever comes their way. Mostly.
They ask lots of questions, ranging from “what is the point of existence?” to “who ate my sandwich?” The answers all tend to revolve around Jean-Paul, who you will come to know.
Some of these stories rely on humor, some don’t, but each one revolves around the quirky trio of characters who come to life in these pages.
Find your favorite chair. Bring your favorite beverage. Let the hijinx begin.
By Hank Cotton
The Ugly Duckling
Hank Cotton, a Hotshot Truck Driver, doesn't know that he’s picked up an unlikely passenger.
In this, his debut story–our hero Hank Cotton, is tasked with getting not only a travel trailer from Indiana to Florida; but also Jenny Deal, a thirteen year old runaway that’s been kidnapped and forced to perform as a sex worker.
Will Hank be able to out run her pimp, and out smart the crooked Alabama lawmen looking to stop him?
Find out how Jenny got in this mess–whether Brooke, Hank’s wife will understand why he’s got an underage sex worker with him, and whether Hank is able to get his cargo delivered safely in this novelette length story titled, The Ugly Duckling.
By G.L. Merritt
Opera Rose and Other Devotions
Opera Rose and Other Devotions is a triptych of a life—Southern-rooted, grief-marked, and stubbornly alive.
Before she was Gray, she was Grace. A girl who learned early how to care for everyone else, how to keep her own heart tucked away beneath layers of old paint. Home was always a moving target—a series of temporary arrangements: a suitcase at a cousin’s house, an empty bed, a makeshift safe place of bean bags and Christmas lights.
In The Bluff, a young girl stands on the edge of something she doesn’t yet understand—watching the boy she loves dance with gravity, already learning how to survive.
In Headstone, a woman finally opens herself to love—and discovers that healing doesn’t mean you won’t be asked to pay for it. What follows is not just grief, but the unraveling of everything she thought she had already sorted through.
In Opera Rose, she is left with what remains: memory, ritual, and the quiet, deliberate choice to feel again—or retreat into the safety of what she knows.
This is a story about midlife becoming—not the kind that announces itself, but the kind that happens quietly, in kitchens, in cars, in the space between who you were and who you’re still becoming.
It’s for the keepers of prayer candles, the makers of analog mixtapes, and anyone who has ever had to learn that human emotion doesn’t run your life—it runs beside it. And that is more than okay.
By MJ Polk
SFTJ Vol. One
A collection of Stories from the Jukebox Contributor stories — inspired by weekly writing prompts driven by the greatest songs of all time.
If you’re like me, music has inspired you over and over again throughout your life. At Stories from the Jukebox, writers turn those songs into prose that will tell a new story, their story.
Stories from the Jukebox is a weekly Substack writing group. Each week, the SFTJ writing group tackles a new writing prompt inspired by the greatest songs of all time. One Subscriber Submission is awarded the Weekly Feature Award🏆 and sits in a prominent position, front and center of the following week’s newsletter. This book is a collection of Feature Winners from the inaugural year of Stories from the Jukebox.
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