DONORA STORY COLLECTION by KATHLEEN SHOOP – BOOK FOUR – JUST RELEASED!!
One of the many authors that the Donora Historical Society helps on occasion is bestselling Kindle author, Kathleen Shoop. Kathleen or Kathie (see the fifth photo) writes historical fiction, women’s fiction and romance novels that have garnered various awards in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Indie Excellence Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Readers’ Favorite and the San Francisco Book Festival. Her debut novel, “The Last Letter,” garnered multiple awards in 2011 including the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) Gold Medal. Kathie has been featured in USA Today and the Writer’s Guide in 2013. Her work has appeared in The Tribune-Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Pittsburgh Parent magazine. Kathie coordinates Mindful Writing Retreats and is a regular presenter at conferences for writers. A Language Arts Coach with a Ph.D. in Reading Education with more than 20 years of experience in the classroom, Kathie lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. Kathie has been a longtime supporter of the Historical Society.
Among the many book projects that Kathie works on is the “Donora Story Collection.” The connecting thread that runs through each of the six Donora Stories is the town itself — its strength, innovative forces that helped shape and protect America, immigrant and American citizens, and even its shortcomings that led to its infamous 1948 killing smog. Books Two through five are also linked by an omniscient narrator. He’s a life-long Donora resident named Patryk. His family is trying to “protect” him by moving him out of the home he was born in nine decades before. But, clutching an antique book that tells his Donora Stories, he refuses to go… not willingly anyway! The novels and novellas span from Donora’s founding in 1901 through the mid-20th century and can be read as “standalones” and in any order. Four of the six books are complete and available for purchase.
The six books are as follows:
Book One — After the Fog – AVAILABLE NOW – see details.
Book Two — The Strongman and the Mermaid – AVAILABLE NOW – see details.
Book Three — The Magician – AVAILABLE NOW – see details.
Book Four – Boxing Day – JUST RELEASED – AVAILABLE NOW – see details.
Book Five — The Circus Dancer – currently being written.
Book Six — The Undertaker – currently being researched.
Each of the complete novels can be read in order or stand alone because the town of Donora is intended to be the thread that ties each tale together. That doesn’t mean you won’t recognize some characters in book three who you saw in book two (the Musials and others), but the characters in each novel experience a full existence that isn’t necessarily dependent on the books before it.
 Kathleen Shoop – Author |
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