The Story

In the lush literary tradition of such acclaimed Southern writers as Flannery O'Connor and Katherine Ann Porter, Nel Rand pens an extraordinary tale of one woman's search to uncover a past full of haunting family secrets.     Thirty-one year-old Ellie Moon goes on a three-week road trip with her estranged father, Tiny, conman and famous gambler. They follow the Mississippi River from St. Louis down to New Orleans, while being chased by a crazed Kentucky sheriff hell-bent on revenge on Tiny. Amidst poker games, an eating contest, a near drowning in the Mississippi River, and a Voodoo ceremony, Ellie retrieves memories from childhood that connect her dark past with the present. She learns that in order to forgive she must first remember.

Nel Rand, a finalist in the 2007 Foreword Magazine
Book of the Year Award.