Let’s talk about your book!

Simply fill out the form below to select a date & time for your no obligation consultation
to see if self-publishing with Outskirts Press is right for you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Product description...

Now only the river can continue telling her story. And she will not tell all she knows because she understands that some of her stories we couldn’t bear. But to the stories she does tell us, we respond like little children and say, “Tell us more...”

When Josh, a Catholic priest, and Joyce, a Native American, meet in northern Michigan at Saint Peter the Fisherman Mission Church on the banks of the Black River—a premier fly-fishing stream for brook trout—their attraction is evident. Each embraces a separate spiritual heritage but struggles with an inner sensual demon. They fall in love, but their love must prove strong enough to bridge that spiritual gap and assuage Josh’s guilt and Joyce’s anguish. Their relationship is facilitated by Josh’s 89-year-old fly-fishing mentor, Ted, and his Labrador retriever, Molly. The river is the main stream running through Josh and Joyce’s story, but the novel is definitely not mainstream. It slips over into fantasy, fable, and the enchantment of nature as our protagonists try to survive against the backdrop of murder, a gambling casino, a mission church of serpent handlers, and accidental oil spills. Their only escape is the lure of the river and its promises of comfort, calm, and each other. Rapture River is a romance, a murder mystery, and an escapist tale. But above all, it is a magical quest for fulfillment in our strange times.

Product details...

digital
Format: Universal eBook Format, 217 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (Nov 08, 2024)
ISBN10: 1977279473
ISBN13: 9781977279477
Genre: FICTION / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial

Author Information...

Robert Edward Smith has fly-fished the Black River since he was ten years old. After a thirteen-month tour of duty in the US Army in South Korea, he returned to the river and claims that he suffered through an intense emotional encounter. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Carol, and their two cats, Dixie and Duffy. Robert has published short stories in literary journals, but Rapture River is his debut novel.
Visit the author's webpage at
https://outskirtspress.com/raptureriver_eBook
for more information.

Many author webpages include:
ebook editions
sample text
audio excerpts and videos

See what Outskirts Press authors are saying about their self-publishing experience