Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller
Curt Iles/Creekbank Stories http://www.creekbank.net
- Represented by Chip MacGregor/MacGregor Literary.
- Publicist: Sycomm/Lake Charles, LA
- Speaking: Christian Speakers Services Dallas, TX
A Spent Bullet
- First book in “Louisiana Skies” series
- Historical Fiction Status: Finished 95,000 words
Key word: Moving!
- Premise: Can two young people—a Milwaukee soldier and Louisiana schoolteacher—find love in the days leading up to World War II?
Chapter 1
“How unhappy is he who cannot forgive himself.”
– Publilius Syrus
Wednesday, August 13, 1941
DeRidder, Louisiana
Elizabeth Reed had only met one soldier she liked, and he had wounded her deeply. So when the blond G.I. tossed the bullet, she didn’t flinch even as it landed at her feet. The soldier leaned out of a crowded Army truck. “You’re beautiful. Write me.”
Future “Louisiana Skies” Books
- As You Were Two Louisiana sisters help “win the war” in WWII New Orleans. Currently in progress in CWG Craftsman course (Diann Mills) “Country comes to town.”
- The Harvest A German POW and farm girl meet and fall in love during the 1943 rice harvest.
Prequels
- The Wayfaring Stranger Irish stowaway meets part Indian girl in 1850’s Louisiana’s “No Man’s Land.” Complete/95,000 words
- A Good Place Families stick together in the storm. Civil War coming of age tale. Complete/85,000 words
- As the Crow Flies A rootless girl and her dysfunctional family wander into the Louisiana No Man’s Land during Reconstruction.
- Coming Series novels
- 1945 The Summer War ends but life will never be the same.
- 1954 Sassafras Three teens struggle to maintain friendship during a violent paper mill strike.
- 1957 The Storm Some storms are external; others inside a heart. Hurricane Audry devastates a Louisiana family.
- 1960 Dynamite A Louisiana family strives to eke out a living during the stumping heyday.
- 1968 Two Brothers One brother was brave; the other smart. One went to Vietnam. The other to Canada. One word: Cain-Abel
1974 A Promise Kept A promise made on a Vietnam battleground leads a California teacher to the Louisiana Piney Woods
1969 A Faded Sign School integration comes to a small Louisiana town during a memorable year in American history. One word: Bewildered Premise: Two families struggle with a dark secret and unsure future.
1990 What I Had to Do A Louisiana woman kidnaps her granddaughter and flees to where her grandparents married: Congo, Africa. One word: courage Premise: some things are worth paying a great price for.
Two Brothers One brother did the safe thing. He went to Canada. The other brother did the brave thing. He went to Vietnam.
Prequels in Louisiana Skies:
1850 The Wayfaring Stranger An Irish stowaway travels to Louisiana’s “No Man’s Land” and finds love, adventure, and tragedy. One word: Better Premise: Better or Bitter: the choice is yours. Status: Complete 95,000 words
1863 A Good Place A boy’s eye view of the stormy Civil War years in western Louisiana. One word: Journey Premise: coming of age in a time of adversity. Status: Complete IPPY Award winner
1882 As the Crow Flies A rootless girl and her dysfunctional family wander into the Louisiana No Man’s Land during the infamous Christmas Eve Westport Fight. One word: Reconstructed Premise: You can grow past your past.
1890 Sugartown A family fleeing a feud attempts a new life in the “Queen of the Frontier”: Sugartown, Louisiana. One word: Sweetness Premise: You can run but you can’t hide.
1898 Turpentine Hill A teen travels from a Louisiana turpentine camp to San Juan Hill and back again. One word: Belonging Premise: You don’t appreciate home until you leave it.
1918 The Flu The end of World War I, an unexpected hurricane, and the 1918 Flu Epidemic test everything a rural Louisiana family has ever believed. One word: Change! Premise: Anything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
1920 Eliza’s Journey A young Louisiana girl travels to the Belgian Congo pursued by her persistent boyfriend. Based on a true family story. One word: Journey
1925 Sawdust A Louisiana girl finds love and adventure at the largest sawmill in the South. One word: Felled Premise: The times are changing as the big trees fall.
1930 Southbound A Louisiana boy roams the country during the dark days of the Great Depression. One word: Found Premise: Looking for the light in a dark time.
1934 The Camps A Louisiana boy comes of age in the Civilian Conservation Corps taking part in the reforestation of what will become Kisatchie National Forest.
One word: Discipline Premise: Every step prepares you for the next one.
1941 A Spent Bullet A Wisconsin soldier and Louisiana teacher meet due to a note stuck in an empty cartridge. One word: Forgiveness Premise: The hardest person to forgive is often yourself. Status: Complete 95,000 words. Just released through Westbow Press.
1942 As You Were Newlywed couple, separated by war, must struggle to keep their love alive. Husband goes to the Pacific, wife to New Orleans. One word: Commitment Premise: Love is tested in wartime.
1943 The Harvest A German POW and Louisiana farm girl fall in love during the rice harvest. Can love grow in the soil of war? One word: War! Premise: during war, the greatest battles are often unseen.
1944 The Lake Two rural sisters arrive in wartime New Orleans and struggle to fit into a different world. One Word: “Country Mice” Premise: Desperate love in difficult times.”
1945 The Summer War ends but life will never be the same. The ending of a war doesn’t always bring peace. One word: Struggle Premise: Reconstruction wasn’t just limited to after the Civil War.
1954 The Mill /Sassafras Three teens struggle to maintain friendship during a violent paper mill strike.
1957 The Storm Some storms are external; others inside a heart. Hurricane Audry devastates a Louisiana family. One word: Unexpected Premise: Choices lead to life or death, love or betrayal.
1960 Dynamite A Louisiana family strives to eke out a living during the stumping heyday. One word: Poor Premise: Can love overcome desperate poverty?
1963 Open Range The final years of open range grazing and its attendant woods burning leads to tragedy. One word: Fire Premise: When the past and future collide, friction, sparks, and fire result.
1968 Two Brothers One brother was brave: he went to Vietnam. The other was smart: he went to Canada. One word: Cain-Abel Premise: Can brotherly love survive?
1969 A Faded Sign School integration comes to a small Louisiana town during a memorable year in American history. One word: Bewildered Premise: Two families struggle with a dark secret and unsure future.
1974 The Promise A promise made on a Vietnam battleground leads a California teacher to the Louisiana Piney Woods. One word: Loyalty Premise: I hated this place when I arrived; now I love it as my home.
1990 What I Had to Do A Louisiana woman kidnaps her granddaughter and flees to where her grandparents married: Congo, Africa. One word: courage Premise: some things are worth paying a great price for.
