Here I am, center, at the Kentucky Book Fair, Saturday, Nov. 12. All 100 copies of THEO & The Mouthful of Ashes sold out with requests for more!
We had a great turnout at the Kentucky Book Fair today. All 100 copies of THEO & The Mouthful of Ashes that I brought with me sold out. More to come.
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THEO & THE MOUTHFUL OF ASHES
A prominent widow is found dead at the foot of her cellar stairs on a farm in the lush Bluegrass section of Kentucky. Her head has been bashed in by an old flatiron found near her body and her mouth stuffed full of ashes. 
The county is shocked – horrified at the brutality of the murder and mystified at the use of the ashes. Theo Clark, a young Marine veteran of the Korean War, working part time at the local newspaper while finishing up his interrupted college career, is assigned to cover the story because no experienced reporters are around when the tip comes in.
Thus begins a dead-run tale of a savage murder, a young reporter trying to make it to the big time by solving it but conflicted by a girl he can’t commit to or let go of, a place he’s not sure he can leave, an itinerant Gypsy band trying to stay clear of the law, and an ambitious Sheriff protecting an influential family.
On the surface a mystery, Theo & The Mouthful of Ashes is also an exploration of social and political forces at play in an important small town in the mid-1950s and of the hold home-place has. It is the prequel to Theo’s Story.
The underlying theme in Theo’s Story is who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong -- and are there consequences. In Theo & The Ashes it’s what constitutes justice -- and who gets to apply it. The author’s feel for the place he’s writing about, (his home town) is as strong as his feel for the characters who people this excellent novel.
THEO & The Mouthful of Ashes
Publication Date: January 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9829-9316-3
ISBN EL: 978-1-4524-0970-2
Page Count: 274
Binding Type: Trade Paperback
Size: 6 x 9 inches
Outer Banks Publishing Group / Raleigh, NC
Email: info@outerbankspublishing.com
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In October of 1941, the coatless body of a prominent journalist is found lying in the snow beside 
a lonely road in the mountains of east Kentucky, over one hundred miles from his home. No one knows why he is there, or how he got there. Though the story is the biggest in the state that year, the mystery is never solved.
Thirty years later a letter from a dying Melungeon elder sets his son in search of answers he doesn't want and gives Theo Clark a story he cannot write ... a story of pride, ambition, retribution and justice - the story of the Dannans and Jesse Bristow.
Theo's Story is available at Amazon.com (including a Kindle version), and will soon be available through all the major online retailers.
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Your son or daughter has just joined the school soccer team and there you are on a pleasant afternoon, standing around a grassy field, watching a lot of kids running back and forth kicking a ball and you are clueless to what they are doing.
Soccer, a Spectator’s Guide is for all those who find themselves at soccer games and are not entirely sure of what’s going on.
A must read for all parents with soccer players in their family. Coming soon to a bookstore near you or on Amazon.com
As a college professor within the CSU system, I have found WORDSMITHING to be a welcome textbook for instruction to writing for public relations. It is a living instrument for both entry level and seasoned professionals.
I am grateful that such a hands-on guide to writing has been conceived for both the corporate as well as academic arena. I am confident that anyone that purchases a copy of WORDSMITHING will equally find it as helpful to their professional development.
Wordsmithing: The Art & Craft of Writing for Public Relations
grew up in Kentucky and learned his craft there. He now lives with his wife in Pinehurst, North Carolina. He is the author of several books,
and his latest book, Theo's Story, is his first work of fiction.
In October of 1941, the coatless body of a prominent journalist is found lying in the snow beside a lonely road in the mountains of east Kentucky, over one hundred miles from his home. No one knows why he is there, or how he got there. Though the story is the biggest in the state that year, the mystery is never solved. 
Congrats Ron!
Congratulations!!! This morning’s newspaper listed the top fourteen best sellers at the Kentucky Book Fair held in Frankfort, Ky. at the Civic Center on November 12, and Ron Rhody’s “Theo and the Moutful of Ashes” was listed in the top 14…actually in the top 10!!! Well done…..you deserve it….Theo deserves it…and, most of all, your absolutely pure and crystal clear writing technique deserves it.
Thank you….for another great read and good adventure and letting us in on your “love affair” with the little city of Frankfort nestled in the gently rolling hills and straddling the beautiful Kentucky River….a “Brigadoon” in and of itself in the era in which the story takes place.
Keep writing…we await with anticipation another great read!
Ron,
Thanks for being a wonderful table-mate at the Kentucky Book Fair. I enjoyed listening to you talk to your appreciative fans and the conversations you and I had. I look forward to seeing you somewhere down the road.
Bill
Author of the Folly Beach Mystery series.