Slant

In a remote area of Kentucky's western Knobs region sit neighboring intentional communities---one permanent, progressive and inclusive; the other seasonal, conservative and exclusive---separated by a creek called Fidelity. But there's a sinister force tied to political exploitation encroaching on Barrel Chute Knob, and this element threatens to change the place forever.

SLANT, the weird little community in the woods founded by hippies in the 1960s, is populated by 204 people of diverse ages, races and ethnicities who share a credo of affirming beliefs. Life in secluded SLANT is copacetic until a new project run by fundamental extremists develops upstream. Now, the peace-loving, deep-thinking people of SLANT are forced to deal with a menace even weirder than they are: a summer camp for elitist teens, run by an ultra-conservative urban mega-church. Among the church campers is a small group of kids whose hobby is dreaming up ways to torture SLANT in an unsanitary manner. To further complicate matters, a sneaky politician injects his corrupt motives into the mix.

Simultaneously witty and insightful, SLANT examines what happens when politics, commerce and religion become the foulest of bedfellows in a pseudo-religious setting---and how that unholy alliance threatens both its own children and its secular, nature-loving neighbors downstream. Exploring minor disagreements as well as major threats to the greater common good, SLANT scrutinizes and magnifies clashes between truth and dogma, between stewardship and capitalism, between citizenship and selfishness. Not for the thin-skinned, SLANT punches hard at the state of politics and religion in our time.

A lively character-driven tale, SLANT is irreverent, unconventional, paradoxical and inspired---candid in its judgment of narrow-mindedness and greed, enthusiastic in its praise of activism and environmental creed. The disparity among worldviews, divergence of mindsets, and presence of unique voices give SLANT substance, spice and spirit. It's a celebration of 21st century rural living, community building and respect ... wrapped in a quasi-utopian existence. The novel's language sings with literary devices, layered symbolism and poetic allusion. Ultimately, SLANT transports the reader to places of intellectual curiosity, civic responsibility and self-examination.