Finding Pluck

Combining the luminous tradition of Southern fiction with the enigmatic world of the mystical
First prize winner of the William Faulkner Literary Award 

It is 1995 in North Carolina and high-school student Taylor Hanes is struggling to escape his small-minded dying textile town. He finds his ticket out by lying on the application saying he is gay in order to get a full-ride scholarship to a state university. His actions generate unexpected consequences from his family and his hometown, but worse yet, he awakens an unsettled paranormal spirit that seems to be venting his anger on Taylor.

In his new life in college Taylor must still contend with the hauntings, but with the help of his new girlfriend, a professed witch, and a group of friends, they ban together to help him unravel the reasons the spirit is restless. They soon learn that the unsettled spirit is the benefactor of Taylor’s scholarship and is seeking the whereabouts in the spirt world of his gay lover who went missing in his first year at the same university.

The narrative deftly moves between the present and when the benefactor attended college in 1927, the pinnacle of the Jazz Age and a period of great change and moral conflict. As the friends dig deeper, they learn about the romance and tragedy that ensued between the lovers. This is a coming-of-age/paranormal love story unlike any other with an unusual twist. Praised for its mystery, drama, honor and romance, Finding Pluck has been hailed as fresh and imaginative, eloquently written, entertaining, and delightfully absorbing.
The narrative deftly moves between the present and when the benefactor attended college in 1927, the pinnacle of the Jazz Age and a period of great change and moral conflict. As the friends dig deeper, the story draws parallels in the lives of the characters. This is a coming-of-age novel unlike any other with an unusual twist. Praised for its mystery, drama, honor and romance, Finding Pluck has been hailed as fresh and imaginative, eloquently written, entertaining, delightfully absorbing, and with something truly important to say.