Crooked Truth

Fifteen-year-old Lucas Webster doesn’t mind working in the fields and chopping cotton on his grandparents’ farm in South Georgia, but he hates getting stuck caring for his Uncle Robert. Born with Down Syndrome, Robert is ten years older than Lucas and follows Lucas around like a clumsy shadow. Lucas wants to get out of Crisscross and be rid of his child-like uncle.

After his grandpa dies in the spring of 1948, things change. His grandmother withdraws in her grief and Alvin Earl, Robert’s half-brother, returns to manage the farm with his guns and stash of liquor. Lucas must become more than a reluctant caretaker. A hard man, Alvin Earl plans to pull Lucas out of school to work on the farm full-time and send Robert to the state asylum. When a fatal shooting occurs late one hot afternoon, Lucas must decide what to tell the sheriff. As he discovers the ties that can destroy and bind a family, he cannot reveal what really happened to the local authorities or anyone else.

Meet the Author

Kristine F. Anderson earned at Ph.D. in Communicative Arts from Georgia State University. She has worked as a freelance writer for national newspapers and magazines and taught high school English. She has also taught courses at Southern Polytechnic State University, now part of Kennesaw State University, and Shorter College.

Crooked Truth, published by Mercer University Press, is her debut novel.  The manuscript received the Ferrol Sams Award for Fiction, and the book was nominated for the Willie Morris 2021 Southern Fiction Award. Kristine was also nominated for 2021 Georgia Writer of the Year, in the category of “Debut Novels.”

She lives with her husband and a house full of books and magazines in the Atlanta area.

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Amanda Vining photo

Amanda holds a BS in Biology from Georgia College & State University. She began her career as an educator with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. After leaving the DNR, Amanda became a formal educator with Baldwin County School System and Jasper County School System. Amanda began her museum career at the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MAS) in Macon, Georgia, where she served as Curator of Environmental Science
(2011-2020). While at MAS, Amanda developed a love for sharing the world around us with the many students who visited on school field trips. During her time as Curator of Environmental Science, Amanda launched a storytime
program for preschool children.

Since 2020, Amanda has been serving Georgia Writers Museum as a volunteer on the Education Committee. Amanda has brought her love of sharing stories with students by launching Peaches’ Reading Pasture. As Museum Manager, Amanda looks forward to serving the community and helping to inspire those within our community to put words to paper and share their stories.

Amanda was born and raised in nearby Shady Dale, Georgia. Her husband, Rodney, is a native of Eatonton, and they currently reside in Putnam County. They have three children.