'A Small Harvest of Pretty Days,' a novel by Larry Kimport

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A Small Harvest
of Pretty Days
by Larry Kimport

Cover for A Small Harvest of Pretty Days

     
    "A bittersweet and tender 
     love story with a
     surprising twist." 
     ForemostPress.com

A Small Harvest
of Pretty Days

About this book, read ...

Then he set his hook and cast it out to a plop in the slow passing water, and said with his back still to me, "No, Miss Clara, I don’t care to judge folks. There’s plenty enough of that goin’ around."

Then I surprised my own self, but apparently not Mr. Finley beside me with, "Would you care to judge me?"

He turned to me then, and he looked so kind and true. "No, Miss Clara. No, I wouldn’t, because I don’t have enough of that tale neither, nor have I ever ast for it."

Oh, how I wanted to trade his secret for mine, so I gathered up my breath and went ahead with it.

"We’ve come to be friends, haven’t we, Mr. Finley?"

"Yes, to my great pleasure I like to believe that, Miss Clara," he said softer, sitting down beside me. A couple of loose rocks shifted.

I looked straight ahead, across the creek and into the trees. "I fear so, that you’ve heard things of me. Of my past, and perhaps of my character. Of my situation, you see."

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Excerpts | Comments And Reviews | Author Info

In 1890s Pennsylvania, Clara Waltz is returning home from visiting ailing old Mrs. Snyder. She encounters a drunken man who, along with four others, had gang-raped her eleven years prior. Terrified, she flees on foot, hiding in a partially fallen tree along a riverbank. From within she sees an unknown tattered-looking man suddenly appear. A great fracas ensues. When all has quieted down, she crawls out and finds that the rapist has been murdered. The stranger is nowhere in sight.

Clara becomes a suspect with the discovery of yet another murder. He, too, was one she steadfastly accused of raping her. Soon an aging drifter comes to the farm where Clara and her illegitimate daughter live as domestic help to a prominent farm family. Clara finds herself being drawn to him, in spite of believing him to be the killer.

This first-person narrative is told through Clara's voice, as an older woman, as a legacy to her children. It's a tale of abuse and murder, but, ultimately, a tale of love and hope.

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From A Review

I just finished reading A Small Harvest of Pretty Days and went right to the computer to find out more about you. I LOVED THIS BOOK!...I read the reviews in the newspaper and put it on my "to read" list which just happened this week. I could not put it down, so you can rest assured that your book made an impact.

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I conceived this love story while walking my dog, and worked on it long into nights after the kids were in bed. I've always been fascinated by what became of Huck Finn after The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. What became of him when he outgrew adolescence and became an adult? This story is my account of that period in his life.

The whole thing was much fun to ponder. I hope you enjoy it.

Larry Kimport

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Photo of Loyalsock Creek