I can’t help but feel that nothing we create in our fictional universes will compare to what is happening in the real world. And that is why I agreed to publish E.H. Jacobs’ debut novel, Splintered River. In some ways, the premise of the novel seems unbelievable, and you wonder if these ambitious political characters with minimal scruples could exist.
When I look at the story’s inciting incident — a white police officer in small-town Louisiana shoots and kills a young Black man holding a hot dog — that seems like an actual news story. The events that unfold, the alliances that occur, the scheming, the paramours… Is it really different from our present-day world?
No book is ever perfect, there will always be typos. There will always be unresolved discussions among the publishing staff. For instance, we wanted to release this book before the 2024 presidential election. If we had waited another six months, would the book look different?
As it stands now, here is the back of the book:
Malcolm Douglas runs from a convenience store.
Officer Mike Hargreaves orders the young Black man to stop, but Malcolm raises his hand and Officer Hargreaves shoots him, only to realize that Malcolm’s ‘weapon’ was a hot dog, not a gun.
In small-town Louisiana, the shooting of a Black teen by a white cop threatens to divide not only the community, but the South at large, and potentially the country thanks to a shadowy white nationalist organization and politicians not unfamiliar with scandal.
Mounting violence, a movement for an independent Black nation-state, and a court battle challenging interpretations of the Second Amendment may divide the United States forever.
Will a cast of unlikely heroes– a grieving mother, an institutionalized spouse of a high-ranking official, a Supreme Court justice and a journalist looking for her own redemption– heal the chasms?
For those of you enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, you can find the book here:
E.H. Jacobs at lala books November 9
If you’re in Massachusetts, lala books in Lowell will be hosting a local author’s day on Saturday, November 9 from 1 to 5 p.m. E.H. Jacobs will be there, and art director Gayle and I hope to stop by in advance since we’re headed to the Museum of Printing this weekend.
If want to buy your copy of Splintered River, it is in stock at these independent Massachusetts bookstores:
- Andover Bookstore, 74 Main St., Andover, Mass., 01810
- Lala books, 189 Market St. Lowell, Mass., 01852
- Eight Cousins Bookstore, 189 Main St., Falmouth, Mass., 02540
- Tutnuck Bookseller, Westborough Shopping Center,18 Lyman StWestborough, Mass., 01581
(and in Pennsylvania, it is on the shelf at Blue Flame Events Retail Store in the Palmer Park Mall)
Parisian Phoenix Publishing 
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