PINEVILLE TRACE

“A man escapes from prison only to find he can’t separate himself from his past. Wes Blake renders the tale with great empathy and in language that’s so lyrical it practically lifts from the page. Blake is a writer to watch.”

—Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever

“Blake’s atmospheric prose will pull readers into Frank’s resigned fatalism, and Pineville Trace serves as the incisive, elegiac odyssey of a confidence man who has lost his sense of spiritual direction.”

—Publishers Weekly

“This was an utterly compelling read. Blake’s prose is sparse and simple, whose short, almost broken, sentences sing with enormous power.”

—SmokeLong Quarterly

“Blake’s writing provides a contemporary case-study on artful, effective minimalism. The effect is an introspective, haunting tale that remains with us.”

—Heavy Feather Review

“Nature abounds. Redemption beckons. As a reader, you’ll want to follow Frank — up to Canada, down to Mexico — because Blake takes such care with every word of the story. Highly recommended.”

—David Wesley Williams, author of The Coldwater Girl

“Despite his own certainty that he is a fraud, Frank emerges for the reader as the truest kind of prophet, following a cat named Buffalo and searching for “the old magic,” seeking an answer to that universal question: what ultimately releases a man from his own demons? A haunting debut!”

—Julie Hensley, author of Five Oaks

“A terse, poignant, and sometimes bitter look at a man’s journey to tether his interior world to a meaningful anchor in the physical one.”

—Tina Andry, author of ransom notes

“Blake’s novel shines into the spirit and reveals the struggle of our living in such worldly and spiritual conditions.”

—Matthew Haughton, author of Stand in the Stillness of Woods

“The book is atmospheric and hypnotic and layered with meaning and ambiguity and complexity in the best possible sense, and I will remember for a long time.”

—Anthony Varallo, author of What Did You Do Today?
 
“Blake’s writing of place and the natural world is transportative. A slim, blues-tinged novel that made me feel, think, and remember.”

—Rebecca Fishow, author of How to Love a Black Hole
 
“Lyrical, moody, perfect for a snowy day. I kept thinking as I read that some independent filmmaker ought to snap this up and make a gem of a movie—small cast, just a few sets, and possibly the best cat in literature/film. Sweet Buffalo.”

—Tammy Oberhausen, author of The Evolution of the Gospelettes

“Quiet as a lullaby and sharp as a knife. This is a hell of a book.”

—Archer Sullivan, author of The Witch’s Orchard

“Blake also admits an obsession with cats. It’s no wonder, then, that a cat also found its way into Pineville Trace, serving as a main character in the story with a human-like personality and the ability to wrench emotion from a reader’s heart.”

—Kentucky Living Magazine

“In Blake’s novella, the depth of writing is so strong that the reader can imagine standing in the background of every chapter, as no elaborate detail is missed. As I sit thinking about the complex aspect of this novella, I reflected on my own life.”

—Southern Literary Review

“A reminder of what it feels like to be human.  Readers will find connection to this story about how time changes our perspectives, what we choose to carry with us, and what we leave behind.”

—Megan Pickett, Paul Sawyier Public Library, Frank Magazine

“The story is so beautiful and sad and wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time. As Frank tries to out run the ghosts of his past and tries to find himself and his purpose it feels as if all he wants is to be home. It’s all about growth and the daily battle between spiritual and worldly struggles. Read this. Let it sink in. You won’t regret it.”

—Teresa Brock, Fully Booked in Kentucky

“One thing I will never take for granted as an avid reader are those rare instances when a book comes out of nowhere and makes you feel so deeply connected and deeply cathartic. There is something really special about Pineville Trace that I can’t stop thinking about.”

—Brooke, reviewer on Goodreads