Lonesome Time
by Weldon Payne
"Your book has left me speechless. The character development is
excellent, and the descriptions take any farm child back to the country in a truly
authentic way. More importantly and profoundly, it is a dignified yet moving
study of the human experience and the human heart. I was especially intrigued by
the minor characters of the minister and his wife juxtaposed with that of her
family – the minister and his wife struggle to practice the love of God as they
understand it, and the family (even the grandmother!) practices love naturally and
neither need to nor try to define love or God – they just experience both. I
am in awe of the talent evident in this book."
– Dr. Mary McLemore, Motlow Associate Professor of Literature
"Lonesome Time is your best work to date. The entire piece
is a lyric poem. I am so proud of it for you."
– Linda Rollins, Secretary, The Literacy Council and Retired Associate Professor of
English at Motlow.
"Lonesome Time is an intriguing and fascinating read –
a masterful piece of writing, and the imagery is just brilliant. What makes Mary Louise's
story so captivating is the time and place in which she lives and what happens
around her – it is a culture made clear and enchanting by Payne's vivid
imagery of that scene and his authentic dialogue. Payne does not follow a clear line in his
telling of his story. Rather, he presents small slices of the past, present, and future
woven and twisted together in a pattern that continues long after Mary Louise's
trials and tribulations are over. It is a small book — but there is not a
wasted word."
– Nick Sullivan, veteran
"I started reading (Lonesome Time) as I ate lunch – kept
reading through lunch, dessert, and coffee, and finished it – because I couldn't stop. I
have to tell you that, with this book, Weldon has surpassed Jesse Stuart, John
Steinbeck, and any and all other writers I have read."
– Angela Arnold, former owner of Barclay Books in
"I just finished your new book. The two sadly beautiful love
stories gone wrong and the intervals of Time are woven skillfully throughout. The imagery
is striking, and if I may say, it's almost like poems in a poem. I thoroughly
enjoyed it."
– Charlene Clower,
friend, neighbor, & history buff.
"Daddy, the story and the way you told it was emotional to me. It
made me imagine how real people are dealing with the same issues as the characters. I
know that this is life, and you told it well. I do not know how much more to expect from
a work of fiction – it made me contemplate and caused me to have emotion
for what was happening. I like that you brought in that Harry had some regrets later
in life. Think how much he missed by not being with Hal on the bird hunts and
fishing."
– Chris Payne,
"The dominant and most fascinating metaphor used in Lonesome
Time is that of the train. (It) metaphorically illustrates the passage of time in our
short lives here on earth. The train is a destructive force in a peaceful place. We cannot
stop it, slow it down, or speed it up. We are all riding on this train called life, and
none of us knows how long we will get to ride or when it will be our time to get off.
What we do know
is that when we get off, we can never get back on."
– Maurya McLendon, writer and