Morkan's Quarry by Steve Yates

In December, Steve Yates contacted me and asked if I would have an interest in receiving a free copy of his novel, Morkan’s Quarry (Springfield, MO: Moon City Press, 2010). Knowing that the novel was set in the Ozarks region during the Civil War, I readily agreed. In the interest of full disclosure, Steve did not pressure me, make any demands, or otherwise twist my arm to make any mention of his novel on this blog. I am often hesitant to read Civil War novels….they seem to fall into one of several categories (sometimes there is overlap between the categories):

+they are romantic novels full of moonbeams, plantation houses, hoop skirts, and handsome but roguish gentlemen;

+they contain a whole host of evil and exceptionally violent psychopaths;

+they are grossly inaccurate; or

+the characters (particularly the historical ones) are like cardboard cut-outs

I could go on…

Often I do not enjoy reading Civil War novels for the reasons listed above, but Morkan’s Quarry by Steve Yates is interesting, enjoyable, realistic, and moving. I read novels regularly, and this is one of the most memorable that I’ve read in a long time.

After reading the book, I contacted Steve and asked him if he would participate in a question and answer session for this blog. He cheerfully agreed, and the next posting will be the question and answer session with Steve Yates.