Excerpt: Jalopy by Wes Verde

Publication Date: May 9, 2021
Paperback & eBook; 499 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

New Jersey, 1928.

All her life, Etta Wozniak has toiled on her family’s small farm, located on the outskirts of a lake resort town. After losing her mother and siblings to one misfortune or another, life has fallen into a rut of drudgery and predictability. That is, until the day she discovers something in an unlikely place; an old car. Energized by the prospects of a world beyond the one she knows, she decides to make this her last summer on the farm. However, disaster is not through with Etta yet, and there will be consequences for her upcoming departure.

Art Adams, a recent college man, arrives in town for a family reunion. After years of moving from one city to another and avoiding conflict whenever it tries to find him, he becomes enamored with the lake. However, there is another reason for Art’s visit. He is to marry a woman he has never met before; an arrangement that was made on his behalf and without his knowledge. More comfortable around numbers and machines than people, Art is reluctant to confront his parents on the matter. But if he decides to do nothing, he risks losing who and what he has come to love.

In a small town of farmers and firemen, musicians and moonshiners, bossy parents and barn parties, two people will come to understand what they must give up in order to have the chance to build something new.

Excerpt:

A Grand View and Veiled Ghosts
The rest of the morning chores went as they usually did. By the time she made her way to
the chickens, they were positively ravenous, and descended on the feed in their usual frenzy. Etta
spared them little attention. Instead, she looked to the horizon. The sun had made some progress.
Nearly peeking over the distant hills, it was light enough to extinguish the lantern. The clouds
above were the color of hot coals and tinged with bright pink. Despite the long day ahead of her,
she stopped to look.
The Wozniaks’ home was perched at the top of a hill, looking across a shallow valley. At
twenty years old, Etta had seen this view in every season and manner of weather since she was
old enough to remember. It never ceased to be beautiful.
The valley below was home to a few other farms. Nothing was growing in the lower fields
just yet, but the spring planting was underway. A distant tractor tilled lines in the soil, chewing
up the winter packed earth in anticipation of a new season. Following close behind, a black and
white dog ran back and forth, chasing rabbits and mice as they darted from the ground. A similar
scene was, no doubt, occurring throughout town at this very moment. Except around the lake of
course.
Past the fields, the railway snaked along the opposite side of the valley. This had been the
source of the town’s growth, bringing out-of-towners to nearby Bott’s Lake, a popular vacation
spot. The trains would come all the way from New York City, some thirty miles away. Bringing
both money and visitors, it was regarded as a blessing to some, a curse for others, and, in Etta’s
case, a means of escape.
Giving the changing colors one last look she carried on. As she had suspected, the coop
yielded fewer eggs than would have been ideal. So few birds could only do so much. When the
flock and her family were both larger, the farm was quite prosperous. Besides chickens, they had
grown enough potatoes and cabbage to make a tidy profit. With no one left to do the work, those
fields had long since gone to weed. Now, the little bit of money earned from selling meat and
eggs was barely enough to cover the cost of chicken feed.
Etta frowned at the disappointing collection. Still, it was better than nothing. Picking out an
even dozen, she set them aside to hard boil. For most of the next hour, she mucked the pen and
loaded the remaining eggs into crates so she could bring them into town. By then, the sun was
fully above the horizon, and cast long shadows amidst the golden yellow light.
The morning was late, and Etta grew anxious. Walking to town would take some time and
she would have to hurry if there was any hope of selling even this modest take.
A sudden flash of optimism cut through her earlier disappointment. There was an alternative
to walking, after all. It was a long shot, but perhaps Papa was feeling generous and this would be
her lucky day.
Besides, it had been nearly four years ago.
With an egg crate in each hand, Etta found Jakob among the pieces of the disassembled well
pump. He glanced up at her approach, casually at first, but did a double take when he noticed the
egg crates.
“Only two? Are the birds eating enough?”
“More like a crate and a half,” Etta replied. “And I think it’s the cool nights. They like it
warmer.”
“We can only do so much for that. I will cut more firewood when I am finished here.”

Etta nodded, but lingered as she considered her words carefully. Her optimism faltered, and
she suspected that she already knew what the answer would be. Still, she had to try.
“May I take the truck?”
Papa stopped working. His mouth made a thin line as he turned to face her. This
conversation was always delicate for both of them.
“I would prefer that you did not,” he said and quickly returned to the pump.
“It’s only to town,” Etta insisted.
“Then, please take the wagon,” Jakob replied, looking over his shoulder. “As you said, it is
not even two full crates.”
She was about to say more, but it was clear the matter was closed. Etta suppressed a sigh.
While Papa had long maintained that it was out of concern for her safety, she was certain that it
was a form of punishment. Though, she could not be sure, as they had not spoken of the event
since it happened.
It was an accident, and it was four years ago, she thought bitterly. You can’t hold it against
me forever.

Amazon

About the Author

Wes Verde is an engineer by trade, a busybody by habit, and a lifelong Jersey boy.

Writing has been a hobby in one form or another since 2006 when he started drawing 3-panel comics. When he is not putting words down, he is picking them up; the “to-read” pile only seems to grow larger.

A fan of nature, he spends as much time outside as possible.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 20
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, September 21
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Wednesday, September 22
Excerpt at Hoover Book Reviews

Thursday, September 23
Interview at Bonnie Reads and Writes

Friday, September 24
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Review + Excerpt at Older & Smarter

Saturday, September 25
Excerpt at Bookworlder
Excerpt at The Cozy Book Blog

Sunday, September 26
Review at Girl Who Reads

Monday, September 27
Review Rajiv’s Reviews

Tuesday, September 28
Review at Novels Alive

Wednesday, September 29
Feature at I’m All About Books

Friday, October 1
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

Saturday, October 2
Review at Bookoholiccafe

Giveaway

Enter to win a paperback copy of Jalop by Wes Verde!

The giveaway is open internationally and ends on October 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.

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