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Weldon Payne
"Little Boys Bad" – Weldon Payne's new
novel – is a "gritty story about loss of innocence, and redemptive
love," the Manchester,
Tenn., author says.
Set in a fictitious Alabama
mining camp in the late thirties, the story is told in the unvarnished vernacular
of a young Ray Atkins who struggles to "belong" after moving with his
family from a tiny farming community.
Published by Beaver Press in Manchester, the 100-page paperback costs $16
and may b e ordered directly from Weldon at P.O. Box 618, Manchester
TN 37349
or by contacting him at weldon@cafes.net or calling (931) 728-7609.
"This novel focuses on a few rough-neck kids, but it
is not a book for children," the writer noted, adding, "Ray tells of
his struggles to adapt to the tough, coal-mining life. It is a tale of
alienation, neglect, loss of innocence, and redemption as he, in the nick of
time, discovers the power of love. A bit raw in places – loss of
innocence is not without pain and seldom pretty – the book also credits,
in Ray's words, the "handful of truly wise women who knew what it was all
about."Another book of Weldon's fiction, Lonesome
Time, was published in 2007
by Beaver Press. It is a love story as well as a poetic tribute to
Time, which
he says "controls our lives and outlasts our deaths." Both
books are
priced at $16 plus postage.
Born in Thrifty (Brown county) Texas
and reared in Alabama,
Weldon graduated from Hueytown
High School
and earned a bachelor's
degree in journalism and fiction writing at The University of Alabama
in Tuscaloosa.
He
and his Mississippi
wife, the former
Barbara Bridges, who teaches piano, met at the University. It was there
that he first wrote "Through the Pane," a column that now appears
weekly in Middle Tennessee newspapers. Its subjects range widely from
nostalgia of growing up in the country, letters now and then to his
grandchildren, experiences from serving aboard Navy destroyers during
the
Korean Conflict, humor, philosophy, politics, or, as he says, "Whatever
I
see 'through the pane' each week." The column has won prizes from
Tennessee
Press Association. Two of Weldon's three plays have been
produced at a Manchester
theater.
A former teacher of journalism and
other writing courses at Motlow
State
Community College
near Lynchburg, Tennessee,
Weldon also has directed public relations for the University
of Tennessee Space
Institute, a
graduate school near Manchester.
Watercolors are his favorite medium though he also paints in oils.
Weldon is an
experienced public speaker. He may be contacted at
P.O.
Box 618
Manchester TN 37349
(931) 728-7609,
or at wp@weldonpayne.com
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