Handful of Vapor

Sometimes, between people and God, there is radio silence.

Set in a small, Ohio town, Handful of Vapor is a collection of connected short stories that follows five characters as they come of age with—and without—faith. The central character, Elisha Gould, son of Affluence Gospel-believing missionaries, moves to town as a twelve-year-old boy and uses faith as a security blanket to survive youthful traumas. Serving as a foil, the skeptical and sarcastic Martha Willow’s life is cast as a concentric circle to Elisha’s. Where he suffers and prays, she resigns herself to chaos. While he is told what to believe, she is raised with a menu of religious doctrines. None stick.

Like many in a generation that grew up in a time of fundamentalism, terrorism, and a hundred other isms, the characters in Handful of Vapor repeatedly label themselves and their experiences. They grasp for meaning. Some find it. Others cling to the faith of their fathers, and come up empty.

The author is currently seeking representation and will accept inquires at SARAHSTANKORB at GMAIL dot COM.