Finding Roland McCray

This book is the complete collection of "The Adventures of Roland McCray" series. The stories see every moment as its own adventure, rather than in the non-stop, action-packed thriller sense. They follow the life of Roland McCray from age eight to eighteen, the formative years for everyone.
Roland's story begins in a small, southern town in the 1960's and recalls a simpler time to be a kid, when children played outdoors for hours instead of spending hours on their smart phones, tablets and video games. He attends a Baptist church with his family and it's a peaceful life, on the surface.
But Roland soon learns that appearances can be deceiving: the preacher's fire & brimstone teachings don't ring true, and his neighbors, devout on Sunday, lie, cheat and gossip the rest of the week.
But Roland is inspired by his grandfather's quiet, unwavering faith that all things work for the good of those who seek good and that's the faith Roland seeks.
As a teen, Roland experiences those angst-ridden teenage years when he is no longer a child but not yet an adult, learns the pain of loss and that joyful rush of first love. He comes to understand the need for forgiveness and acceptance in an often-confusing world and begins his own search for truth.
Enticed by more temptations than ever, he believes in the quiet morality of his grandfather's belief that faith isn't a thing to be flaunted to the world; it is a quiet certainty that all things work for the good of those who seek good. Roland holds fast to that faith as he tries to overcome the beliefs imposed on him by the church and as a guide to his own Path to God.
Will Roland find his Path, that truth he searches for, or will he take the wide road that most people choose because it's the easy way?
Each chapter is a complete story, but taken together, they form a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. This book will quickly pull you into Roland's world and the coming-of-age struggles everyone faces. Roland's story is a nostalgic tale of a young man growing up in the south and losing his religion to find God. It's an ultimately satisfying and inspiring story that will leave you with a new view of the beauty that is life!
"...walk through young Roland's life and you're sure to find something important, something you've forgotten"
"...an enchanting collection of tales from a gentler and more innocent time. But no matter when you grew up, you'll see parts of your own childhood and yourself in these stories. Skillful and charming writing that is a pleasure to read. In certain chapters like Of Cults and Klans, I like how the author used the berries to weave through and counter the tension and depth of the other issues. Anyone who enjoys wonderful storytelling will love these books. Highly recommended five stars."
"I very much enjoyed this book. I thought the prose was excellent and the storyline deep. A child growing up in the South offers a unique look at the culture of the area in the 1970s. The author did a wonderful job of portraying this in all its complexities."
"These stories are woven in such a way that you feel what Roland feels- not all lightness and brightness, but more like real life remembered in all of its shaded details."

A lifelong resident of Virginia, I grew up in the rural southeastern part of the state with a large extended family. I majored in Religious Studies and minored in Creative Writing-fiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. I now live in a rural area near Richmond where six year old beagle, Leah, and her new companion beagle, Billy, have room to run. I spend my free time with my favorite activity, gardening, participate in Midlothian Wordsmith's Workshop, and read and write as often as possible. At university, I was fortunate to have many incredible writing teachers, the most recent being authors Clint McGown, and Sheri Reynolds, bestselling author of RAPTURE OF CANAAN among others. I learned from Clint McGown that prose can be as beautiful as poetry and I gained a love of southern fiction from Sheri Reynolds.
In 2012 I began writing stories about a boy growing up in the south in the 1960's. Those stories became the collection THE ADVENTURES OF ROLAND MCRAY. All three volumes are also in print and audiobook. My books are available in or can be requested at many Public libraries and paperback versions can be ordered from several major offline book retailers.
I also have a new book that is a radical change from the ROLAND MCCRAY series- FALLING WATER (Stories and Poetry)- a well-received collection of unusual short stories and poetry that is also available in print and audiobook (beautifully narrated by Charles Kahlenberg). Among other projects, I'm currently working on a science fiction novel that I hope to complete in 2017.