Our Books

Readers are loving our latest short story collection,Where I Come From.   Reader feedback continues with, “Curt, this is your best book yet.” See for yourself! I want to invite you to visit our Where I Come From Amazon Page today.     You can read six sample chapters on the Amazon page.  Reader beware:  Few readers who read Chapters …

“I worship when I write, and I write when I worship.” This wonderful quote shares what I’ve come to realize: that writing and creating are ways of worshipping God. He is the source of my life, joy, and any writing skills I’ve been given. I want to be a good steward of those gifts in 2025 and beyond.   Merry …

  Scroll to the next post for Creekbank Book Information, or click here. Author’s note: I originally cut “A Broken Cup” from the book. I wasn’t sure I was ready to be this transparent.   When we needed one more chapter to match the book’s spine width with the page count. I felt this was God’s direction to include it …

This is the landing page for our upcoming short story collection, Where I Come From. We’ll be updating information on the book here. “Leave this world better” from Where I Come From.   Front Cover Image   This is the image for the front cover of: Where I Come From: Stories from the Pineywoods CURT ILES ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Where I Come …

  Sleeping on the Ground   When you sleep on the ground With the stars in your face, You can feel the full-length Of the beauty and grace. -Dan Fogelberg  “The Wild Places”   I’ve just spent the last two nights sleeping on the ground under the stars. One night was on a bicycle trip on the Tammany Trace Trail. …

. The Sign Phantom of Dry Creek From the book, The Old House, by Curt Iles It all began in the Spring of 1974, just prior to my high school graduation. A rainy April had kept the local streams flooded in “Dry Creek.” (The world’s most overworked cliché, “Well, how wet is it in Dry Creek?”) One afternoon, I went …

Leaders Eat Last You can listen to the podcast episode of “Leaders Eat Last”  at our The Quiet Leader Podcast Thoughts on Servant-Leadership   “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 I’ve recently discovered a fascinating book, Leaders Eat Last by …

Audio Podcast of “Professor Cavanaugh’s Best Lecture. ”   A word from Curt Teacher. There’s no higher calling. Few professions can influence as much as a dedicated teacher. The best teacher I ever met was Charles Cavanaugh. This is his story. “Yes, God’s will—most often—is simply doing the best we can, right where we are.” Professor Charles J. Cavanaugh and …

“Six Foot Deep” in Trouble     A word from Curt: Emotion The best stories elicit emotion. Sometimes tears. Other times laughter. Even anger or sadness. A good story creates emotion. Today’s blog is a funny story from an unlikely location,  Dry Creek Cemetery. Enjoy. Laugh. Retell.   “Six Foot Deep” in Trouble   One of my ministries is helping …

A word from Curt Leaning Trees “When I observe a young person, I experience two strong emotions. First, I feel great affection for the young person they are. Then secondly, I feel a deep respect for the adult they will one day become.” -Louis Pasteur   On the morning before Hurricane Rita arrived, I made one last survey of my …