Fiction Works:
Tetralogy
Inherit the Land
“Joe Edd Morris tells a poignant tale of a young man’s search for identity… This beautifully-upbeat and enduring novel is recommended for all ages, es- pecially in areas with large Hispanic populations”
–The Library Journal
“A truly memorable literary journey… combining a strong plot with first- rate characters and some elegiac writing about the link between families, the land and its history… Morris’ obvious talent shines through from start to finish.”
–Publisher’s Weekly
“Morris writes with a clear lyricism… Morris knows Mexico… descriptions of the landscape and the small towns ring of hard-earned observation. He is aware of language and what it can bring to a story and equally cognizant of what it can subtract from a story.”
–Raleigh News Observer
The Will
“First novelist Morris, a Mississippi pastor-turned-psychologist who also writes poetry and short stories, tells a poignant tale of a young man’s search for identity…This beautifully upbeat and enduring novel is recommended for all ages, especially in areas with large Hispanic populations.”
–The Library Journal
“A truly memorable literary journey… combining a strong plot with first- rate characters and some elegiac writing about the link between families, the land and its history… Morris’ obvious talent shines through from start to finish.”
–Publisher’s Weekly
“Not long ago I heard a literary critic claim that there are only two stories— a stranger comes to town or a young person leaves home…Joe Edd Morris’ terrific first novel, “Land Where My Fathers Died,” fits neatly into the sec- ond category…Morris knows Mexico well, and his descriptions of the landscape and the small towns that dot Jo Shelby’s way have the ring of hard- earned observation. Morris, a former Methodist minister, writes with a clear lyricism. Aware of language and what it can bring to a story, he seems equally cognizant of what it can subtract from a story. Here is a simple but com- pletely eloquent description of Jo Shelby’s thoughts at the end of the book: “He thought of where he was and how far he’d come and of his chances and what he had to lose and what he had to gain and weighed both sides of the equation and decided there were times in a man’s life where simple arithme- tic broke down and nothing was more than something but there was no book that ever taught that.” I doubt that many writers could say it better.”
–Raleigh News Observer
“Land Where My Fathers Died is an amazing debut. It made me think of All the King’s Men, Blood Meridian, even As I Lay Dying. Joe Edd Morris’s
characters spring from the earth itself. This is a book you won’t put down. A story you will remember for many years to come. What a novel. What a writer.”
–Steve Yarbrough
In Twenty Mile Bottom, Mississippi, a grandmother mysteriously disappears. Her 18-year-old grandson, Roy Gene, smells a rat and launches his own investigation. Unbeknownst to him is a domestic terrorist plot masked by a renegade religious cult run by a gypsy fortuneteller and his alcoholic evangelist grandfather. The grandfather’s infamous Halloween service, The Devil Walks at Midnight is the emotional lynch pin to a corrupt theology of fear that keep everyone in line… except Roy Gene’s grandmother and Roy Gene.
Others smell a rat, too. Federal Investigator Chase Hightower, probing why Twenty Mile Bottom has over 500 disability cases of paranoid schizophrenia, crosses paths with Roy Gene and the two join forces. As conspiracies unravel and murders are solved, all hell, literally, breaks loose as Twenty Mile Bottom goes up in a cataclysmic explosion and conflagration.
The narrative takes the reader through a rollicking farcical world of hilarity and pathos, and of sin and redemption, with glimpses into the world of disability fraud, domestic terrorism, and unsung disability investigators.
“A gothic tale of the highest order. Joe Edd Morris steeps the reader into
the creepy, intriguing world of Twenty Mile Bottom, a place without cell
phone coverage, without the normal rules of civilization, with great
contempt for the American society that feeds it. The community has a
ridiculously high number of documented cases of schizophrenia and other
maladies that keep its members on the government dole.
Joe Edd is a wonderful writer. I’ve read a half dozen of his novels,
and he never disappoints. He occupies that sweet spot in literary fiction
where a rip-roaring story is propelled forward by fully realized characters
whom the reader cares about. Those meat-and-potatoes elements are
elevated by Morris’s marvelous feel for language. His novels remind me
of a meal straight from the kitchen of a master chef. Yes, you’re familiar
with the ingredients, but they never tasted like this. Bon Appetit!”
–Michael Hartnett, author of best-selling The Blue Rat
and The Blue Gowanus
“This book is magical. Breathtaking. A true original. Nuanced and
detailed, the novel has a cast of unforgettable characters and a complex plot that will keep you turning pages. There is humor, too, The laugh-aloud kind. Eulala Faye gets herself into one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever read. I loved it! Don’t miss it.”
–Peggy Webb, USA Today Bestselling Author of The Language of Silence
“Joe Edd Morris owns a complete understanding of the South’s
spookiness in The Devil Walks at Midnight. And if anyone wants a clue
as to how to run longtime, successful scams—again, I think, one of the
features of small town living in the South—add his novel to your list.
This is a wonderful how-dunnit.”
–George Singleton, author of You Want More: Selected Stories
In Israel, famed archaeologist Christopher Jordan and ancient manuscript expert Kathryn Ferguson team up again to save two recently discovered jars and the early Christian documents they are believed to contain. Complicating their effort are an American Fundamentalist student who discovered the jars and fanatically believes the should be in Christian hands; and a Hezbollah kidnapping attempt of Chris and Kate in reprisal for their earlier heisting of Mark’s orininal gopel from Syria. Israel and Palestinian antiquity authorities are also in the mix for claiming ownership of the jars in an escaltion of this percolating international recipe for war.
Paralleling Chris and Kate’s assignment is the story of the original lost sayings of Jesus, the Q Gospel, a creative imagining of how they came to be composed and the author’s efforts to save his lofetime work.
Filled with fascinating historical detail, both stories weave between modern and ancient biblical times as formidable obstacles face the protagonist in their race toward thrilling conclusions.
“A remarkable feat: The Lost Gospel, As inspiring as it is exciting.”
-Michael Harnett, Award winning author of The Blue Rat
“Historical fast-paced. Suspenseful. I couldn’t put it down.”
-Joseph Reiff, author of Born of Conviction
An unforgettable story fo two courageous couples who risk everything for truth.
Amid a revolution, archaeologist Christopher Jordan and ancient manuscript expert Kathryn Ferguson travel to Syria in search of the original scroll of Mark’s Gospel. Paralleling their quest is the story of the evangelist’s escape with the scroll from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., his struggles to com-plete the manuscript and his journeys and efforts with the daughter of Peter the Apostle to pretect and save it for the ages. For both couples, time is running out and enemies are closing in.
Richly evocative and fiercely moving, this literary thriller explores the hard questions: Did Mark inten-tionally omit the resurrection story, leaving it shrouded in mystery? Or did it become detatched and lost forever?
Discover the answer in The Lost Page.
Endorsements:
“A brilliant novel written with the authority of a scholar and the skill of a gifted stroyteller.”
– Peggy Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Language of Silence
“The Lost Page does it all – captivates, and convinces.”
– Vicki Hinze, USA Today bestselling author.
Torched: Summer of ’64 is available for pre-order NOW! If you purchase your book prior to the publication date of May 21, 2020, you may use the promo code: PREORDER2019 to receive a 15% discount. (Black Rose Writing Purchases Only)
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“A magnificent tale of race and romance that speaks to us today more than ever.”
-Michael Hartnett, bestselling author of The Blue Rat
“Prose in the skilled hands of Joe Edd Morris is powerful, lyrical… almost like reading poetry.”
–Peggy Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Language of Silence
“Joe Edd Morris is a life long Mississippian with a true gift of telling a good story.”
-Gerald Walton, author of The University of Mississippi: A Pictorial History
PRAISE FOR TORCHED
“In his new novel, Joe Edd Morris weaves a tale of love and violent confrontation that is genuine, captivating and arresting. With Torched, he establishes a voice that is a worthy addition to the roster that includes Welty and Faulkner.”
Steven Byess, Conductor of the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Columbia Portland Symphony, Arkansas Symphony and the Ohio Light Opera.
“Joe Edd Morris has honed a bullet aimed directly at the heart and soul of the reader.”
Peggy Webb, USA Today bestselling author of The Language of Silence
“A magnificent tale of race and romance that speaks to us today more than ever.”
Michael Hartnett, bestselling author of The Blue Rat and Generational Dementia
“With the exquisite skills of a mature and consummate writer, Joe Edd Morris’ Torched is both timely and timeless. And, oh yes, it is a great read!”
James Hutchingson, author of Boundaries and Pandemonium Tremendous
SHORT STORIES
“Greenhouse,” Crucible, Summer 2009.
“Undertow,” Bayou Magazine, Number 47, 2007. Nominated for 2007 for the Puscart Prize.
“A Day in the Life,” Return to Pepper Land, 2005.
“My Father’s Business,” Concho River Review, Fall Edition, 1998. First Place, Gum Tree
Writing Contest, Published Authors, 1997. Also included in Concho River Review, Fifteen
Years of Fiction: A Retrospective, Spring, 2002.
“Communion,” Appalachian Heritage, Winter Edition, 2000.
“Vista,” South Dakota Review, Winter Edition, 1999.
“Inua,” The Chattahoochee Review, Winter edition, 1993.
