New Release: Appalachian Justice, Melinda Clayton

Billy May Platte is a half Irish, half Cherokee Appalachian woman who learned the hard way that 1940s West Virginia was no place to be gay. As Billy May explains, "We was sheltered in them hills. We didn't know much of nothin' about life outside of them mountains. I did not know the word lesbian; to us, gay meant havin' fun and queer meant somethin' strange." In 1945, when Billy May was fourteen years old and orphaned, three local boys witnessed an incident in which Billy May's sexuality was called into question. Determined to teach her a lesson she would never forget, they orchestrated a brutal attack that changed the dynamics of the tiny coal mining village of Cedar Hollow, West Virginia forever.
Thirty years after the brutal attack, living in solitude on top of Crutcher Mountain, Billy May discovers the hideout of a young girl.  No one knows better than Billy May the telltale signs of abuse, and she must quickly make a decision. Will she withdraw into the solitude in which she has lived since the horrific attack, or will she risk everything to save the girl from a similar fate?
Billy May tells us her story in her own words, as she lays dying in a hospice in Huntington, West Virginia in the spring of 2010. "From the top of my mountain, I seen that girl runnin'," she remembers, "and I understood even then that my decisions might very well be the death of me." 

Visit Author Melinda Clayton's Blog 

Purchase Appalachian Justice 

Tidbit From Author Melinda Clayton: 

I'm an odd mix of psychotherapist and writer who has always loved to read, and who has always loved to explore the motivations behind the choices we make. I try to give my characters depth, and to demonstrate the thought process behind the decisions they make.
Appalachian Justice is my first novel, and it's dark, no doubt. But it's also a tribute to the many brave women and children with whom I've connected over the years through my therapy practice. They have my deepest, deepest respect and admiration.