Spotlight on True Stories at the Smoky View by Jill McCroskey Coupe

Publication Date: April 5th, 2016
Publisher: She Writes Press
Pages: 324

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Debut Novel


After attending the funeral of her estranged friend Skip in Knoxville, Tennessee, Vrai (short for Vraiment), a forty-something art history librarian with sons of her own, rescues ten-year-old Jonathan, who has been abandoned with no shoes in the funeral home parking lot. The Blizzard of 1993 strands this unlikely duo at the Smoky View Motel, where, motivated in part by the unsolved murders of Jonathan’s parents, they begin to uncover the truth about Skip’s death. With elements of mystery and intrigue, True Stories at the Smoky View is primarily a novel about relationships: the love Vrai feels for her husband and sons, all of whom have left home; her friendship with Skip, which she begins to see in a new light; and her deepening bond with Jonathan. For Vrai and Jonathan, this is a story of mutual rescue―one that results in new lives for them both.

Advanced Praise

“True Stories at the Smoky View is a riveting literary mystery you won’t soon forget. Jill McCroskey Coupe handles this complex tale of troubled romance, broken families, redeeming friendship, and inexplicable evil with intelligence, grace, and grit. This exhilarating debut novel brims with honesty, charm, heart, and good humor.”
—John Dufresne, author of No Regrets, Coyote


“Intrigue abounds in True Stories at the Smoky View, but this wonderful first novel is above all testament to Eudora Welty’s observation that “all serious daring starts from within.” With an abundance of wit and accuracy of feeling, Jill Coupe beautifully charts both the complexities of loyalty and the internal growth of Vrai Lynde, her central character, and she does so in clear, precise prose.”
—Jane Brox, author of Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light


“This is a thoroughly absorbing book that I found difficult to put down. The personalities Coupe conjured stayed with me long after I finished reading. The writing is beautiful: spare and funny. A most enjoyable read.”
—Maureen Beck, former Director of Library Services, Stevenson University

 

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About the Author 

Jill McCroskey Coupe’s first job was gathering (collating) in her father’s printing plant in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. A former librarian at Johns Hopkins

University, she has an MFA in Fiction from North Carolina’s Warren Wilson College, in the heart of the Blue Ridge. The Southern Appalachians always feel like home to her, but so does Baltimore, where she’s hard at work on her next novel.


Find out more about Jill on her website and connect with her on Facebook.