Castle Freeman, Jr.

The Devil in the Valley

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 19:14:11 +0000

Placed in a dark, moody rural Vermont, this beguiling tale touches on temptation and greed and all the things we desire for ourselves and for others in this life. A captivating story that explores the supernatural while staying rooted deeply in our world, The Devil in the Valley is a seductively powerful novel, as bewitching as Old Nick himself, from a master of his craft.

Go With Me

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:18:33 +0000

The Vermont hill country is the stark, vivid setting for this gripping and entertaining story of bold determination. The local villain, Blackway, is making life hellish for Lillian, a young woman from parts elsewhere. Her boyfriend has fled the state in fear, and local law enforcement can do nothing to protect her. She resolves, however, to stand her ground, and to fight back, with the aid of a pair of unlikely allies—Lester, a crafty old-timer, and Nate, a powerful but naïve youth. In this modern-day quest, a kind of Greek chorus of local men—wry, witty, digressive; obsessively, amusingly reminiscent; skeptical, opinionated, and not always entirely sober—enriches the telling of the tale as the reader follows the threesome’s progress on their dangerous, suspenseful journey.

All That I Have

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:15:30 +0000

In this gripping, darkly funny, and wise tale, Sheriff Lucian Wing confronts a series of challenges to his marriage, his work, and his settled way of life in rural Vermont. Wing is an experienced, practical man who enforces the law with a steady hand and a generous tolerance. Things are not as they should be, however, in the sheriff’s safe, protected domain. The outside world draws near, and threats multiply: the arrival in the district of a band of exotic, major-league criminals; an ambitious and aggressive deputy; the self-destructive exploits of a local bad boy; Wing’s discovery of a domestic crisis. The sheriff’s response to these diverse challenges calls on all the personal resources he has cultivated during his working life: patience, tact, and (especially) humor.

Round Mountain: Twelve Stories

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:34:16 +0000

Twelve stories, interrelated by time, characters, events, and themes and set in a rural community in Vermont.

This print edition of Round Mountain is published by the Concord Free Press, in partnership with the Eastman Kodak Company, manufacturers of the Prosper series of digital book press equipment used to produce the books. It is distributed free of charge in the hope of stimulating charitable contributions, including contributions aiding recovery from damages in the State of Vermont consequent on the calamitous Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011.

Central to the stories is the unlikely friendship of Homer Patch, handyman, sometime town constable, sometime deputy sheriff, and Clayton Makepeace, a figure from the larger world whose connection to the place, and to Homer, dates back to their youth and who is now in declining health and retired to the town. Through exploring the relationship of these two men and the interplay of other characters with and around them, the stories give the reader a complex and sympathetic understanding of the principals, their lives, and their setting.