HOAR FROST

Could you go out onto a snowy rooftop to confront a would-be jumper? What might you experience if you were trapped inside a tornado? How long could you keep a huge secret from your concert-hall fans? How would you choose between two irreconcilable talents? What would you do if you suspected something about yourself which would demolish your career? How would you deal with startling childhood memories emerging after decades of being repressed?

HOAR FROST is an anthology of seven dramatic and entertaining stories dealing with the loss of faith, the end of traditions, impossible choices, lives changed in unusual ways:

"Windfall" - A grieving widower, visiting his wife's grave in a rural Midwest cemetery, is snatched up by a tornado and carried not only into an aerial maelstrom but into a new awareness. Set in (and above!) Iowa.

"Rise Up Singing" - A spectacular young opera singer on a national tour with Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" and already well on her way to major stardom, has to deal with a life-altering secret. Set in Charleston and other locations.

"Shadow Boxing" - A piano teacher has a major dilemma: one of his teen-aged students shows enormous potential for achieving an international concert career. But the boy's father is pushing him into amateur boxing. Should the teacher try to convince his prodigy that boxing could ruin his chances of success as a concert pianist? Set in Victoria, B.C.

"Where Morning Lies" - After a plane crash kills her bush pilot boyfriend, an Alaskan woman has settled into a quiet and satisfying life as a clock repair expert and is happily occupying her free time with quilting, gardening, and writing poetry. But into her well-ordered life comes the unexpected-a young biologist who knocks everything off-balance. Set in Southcentral Alaska.

"Flood Gates" - A top cardiovascular surgeon makes a diagnosis that he desperately hopes is incorrect even though he prides himself in always being right. At the same time his wife struggles to overcome fears about the geothermal systems underneath their historic home. On one dramatic day, their stories converge. Set in Boise, Idaho.

"Hoar Frost" - In the title story, an Alaskan minister whose marriage is in trouble, faces a more universal issue: he thinks he's losing his faith, On what's normally his day off, he's severely put to the test. Set in Anchorage.

"Shearwater Rising" - On an exclusive small-ship tour to the Galapagos Islands, a renowned tapestry weaver has three main goals: to find new inspiration for her work, to reconnect with her childhood, and to try to reestablish trust within her marriage. Set in the Galapagos Islands.

Filled with unusual juxtapositions and remarkable characters, the diverse stories of HOAR FROST touch on important themes-including grief, love, mortality, faith and memory.

Eric Wallace's distinctive voice is sometimes lyrical, sometimes ironic, sometimes quietly-humorous. And always engaging.

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