Mo' Trouble Down South

Mo' Trouble Down South--An Omnibus Collection of Historical Fiction -- Also Read Trouble Down South and Other Stories

Slave Auction -- Master Finnius has died, and his widow must sell off his holdings. Included in these holdings are 22 slaves. In Slave Auction, Horatio, one of the slaves, is ripped from the arms of his mother and sold into bondage. This story will bring you to tears as you learn the fate of this four-year-old slave boy.

Missus Buck -- If you liked "Slave Auction" from Trouble Down South and Other Stories, you're going to love to hate "Missus Buck," a 6850-word short story about an elderly woman, advanced in years, who fosters a spirit of hostility toward her daughter-in-law because she believes her to be a commoner. Their family descending from German aristocracy, Missus Buck believes her son has married beneath him when he weds Missus Julie, who feels the sting of her disapproval even from the first day she met her. Missus Buck shows no mercy towards Missus Julie's slaves and squares off with Missus Julie's favored slave, the feisty Rubeline.

The Dust Storm -- In the 1930's, during the Great Depression, Muriel must contemplate moving back East with her daughter and Maw Maw, after spending several years with her husband, Palmer, in the Dust Bowl of Texas. The idea of owning his own farm has been Palmer's dream all of his life. It has been a long, hard, painful year for Muriel's family, and the constant dust storms that have wreaked havoc across the Mid-West have left her disillusioned and ready for a change. Will she leave her husband behind? Will he leave with her?

The Hankering -- Miss Carmelia Faye Lafayette is a tough-as-nails owner of an early 1900’s barrelhouse-turned-sophisticated juke joint called The Hankering in the Deep South of Mississippi. At the Hankering, there's a lot of fighting and a great deal of drinking bootleg whiskey, particularly Miss Carmelia's own homemade Cherry Whiskers. And when it's all said and done, a lot of lovemaking. Miss Carmelia gives Buford Tee a hard time when he tries to make a play for her affections shortly after the murder of her abusive husband . . . uh, ex-husband, that is. Well, she ain’t having it. She doesn’t want a man that’s only after her . . . (you know what). And she lets him know it in no uncertain terms.