This is an anthology of poems submitted by poets who have participated in Open Mic Night of the Aspen Poets' Society, Inc. over the 7 years of its existence. Forty-eight poets participated in the anthology, submitting some 320 poems. Ninety-six poems were selected for the volume.

A Democracy of Poets of the Roaring Fork Valley and Beyond

Literature & Fiction

DeLuca, Marjorie

Scott, Cameron

Nuzzo, Kim

Poetry

AGS Publishing

Rita Hawkins fought all her life to escape from Crag Street, the grimy street of colliery houses where gossip reigned, tuberculosis killed, and mining families slaved to make ends meet. There she met George, the last surviving son of a poor mining family forced against his wishes to start work as a miner. Her life becomes inextricably tied up with his but love eludes them, though events in their lives constantly throw them together. George the high-minded idealist gets caught up with the miner’s union, while cold, hard cash drives Rita, the pragmatist, towards independence and success in business. Their relationship is complicated by the tragic Maggie, abused mother of seven children and Ella, the childless street gossip with her nose in everyone’s business. Years later, when Crag Street is torn down and rebuilt in a museum, Rita receives an invitation from George to attend the Grand Opening. The visit forces her to face painful memories about George, Maggie and Ella and to revisit the tragic incidents of the last days she spent on Crag Street. A vivid tale of love and loss, joy and tragedy, The Pitman’s Daughter spans five decades and portrays the colorful tapestry of life in a Durham colliery village. Filled with unforgettable characters it is also a story of ambition and identity that shows no matter how hard we try, we can’t escape our past since it shapes us into the person we become.

The Pitman's Daughter

Genre Fiction

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

August 1872. Clara Blackstone, travels up to Durham City to meet her husband, Henry, a newly appointed Professor of Mathematics at Durham University. It is supposed to be a fresh start - a chance to put recent troubles and nightmarish events behind her. But after a tense reunion, their carriage runs into a mob gathered to witness the mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton being brought into Durham Jail. Buried memories of Clara's second tragic miscarriage begin to resurface, and her inability to recall events of the months leading up to her subsequent committal to a private asylum, cause her to question her husband's motives for placing her there. When Clara befriends Catherine, an outspoken Suffragist, she joins her as a prison visitor, working with female inmates. The childless Clara encounters Mrs. Cotton and becomes increasingly fascinated with her story and when she learns the murderer is pregnant the obsession grows. As she uncovers more details about the murders, she’s tormented by the idea that a mother could poison her own children. A disturbing encounter finally unlocks the truth behind the terrible events surrounding her miscarriage, but when her husband falls under the controlling influence of a devious colleague, Clara is soon fighting for her sanity, her freedom and her grandmother's inheritance. Meanwhile public outrage grows about Mrs. Cotton, a woman who would go against her God-given instincts and murder her own children and several husbands by poisoning, a 'woman's choice' of weapon. Newspaper articles about "the monster" incite fresh debate about the natural place of women in the latter decades of the 19th century while Clara struggles to save her fortune, her freedom and her life.

The Savage Instinct

Literary

In the lineage of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, The Savage Instinct is the chilling story of one woman's struggle for her sanity, set against the backdrop of the arrest and trial of Mary Ann Cotton, England’s first female serial killer. England, 1873. Clara Blackstone has just been released after one year in Hoxton, a private asylum for women possessed by madness. Clara has two goals: to reunite with her husband, Henry, and to never―ever―return to the asylum. As she enters Durham, Clara finds her carriage surrounded by a mob gathered to see Mary Ann Cotton―England’s first female serial killer―charged with the murder of eleven individuals, including those of her husband and children. Clara soon finds that the cold, shadowy walls of their estate are no less terrifying than the white-tiled walls of Hoxton. And as she grows increasingly suspicious of Henry’s intentions, her fascination with Cotton grows. Soon, Cotton is not just a fascination from the headlines, but an unlikely confidante, mentor―and perhaps accomplice.

Inkshares

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Books by DeLuca, Marjorie

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DeLuca, Marjorie. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Democracy of Poets of the Roaring Fork Valley and Beyond

The Pitman's Daughter

The Savage Instinct

The Savage Instinct