Circumference of a Big Man was named an Honorable Mention in the Mainstream/Literary Fiction category of the 33rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. There were 1,450 overall submissions this year. Among the eight categories, only 28 honorable mentions were awarded in all.
About the only thing Donald Franklin Bell can count on is never catching a break. Born the son of John Bell, a man whose own bad luck has shaped his view of a world out to destroy him, Donnie is doomed from the start. While John expects Donnie to do his bidding without complaint, Alma, the least expensive help John can find, instills a fear of God in the boy that gives him both a respect for religion and a sense of guilt as heavy as the burden of his brother, Danny. Danny is as needy as John, but while John wallows in self-pity, Danny clings to routine, requires sameness, and never learns to count past eleven. Between Alma's beatings and his father and brother's demands, Donnie lives with a meanness that swells up in him and eventually pushes him to take a step toward independence. When he gets a job at Perkins Gap's only grocery store, he quits high school and allows himself to hope he can find a way to leave his self-absorbed father and mentally disabled brother and become an independent man. He soon learns that Bells are not built for such luxuries as hope.
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Childhood in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains during the 1960s and 70s was an event far removed from that which children experience today. It was equal parts play and work. Kelly Vanover spent his formative years in a culture that was not only unique during that time but is now lost completely. In his memoir, Vanover retells the adventures he and his brother Keeron created as boys living beside the Pound River in Clintwood, Virginia. The story follows his life to his marriage in 1984 and is his attempt to recreate for his daughter the world that made him into the father he became.
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Sometimes the hardest part of school is history; other times, it is saving the world. Mindy and Stewart are a pair of unlikely heroes who realize all the smart kids in their class are missing and take it upon themselves to find them. Along the way, they realize the value of thinking outside the box, and in Stewart's case, the power of giving everyone, even breakfast food, a fair chance. The Most Important Tuesday at Carbuncle Elementary School was written for elementary school students who love to read and secretly wish they could be misfits who save the day. The book's graphic novel style illustrations makes it especially appealing for young readers.
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