Appalachian, Books, Feminist, Fiction, Literature, Motherhood, Novel

No. Na. Me?

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This past summer, I got to hang out with my friend Brian Petkash, and my new friend Aki Liao, and have an amazing conversation about writing, craft, the writing life, and my novel, Five Oaks.

The bad news: We weren’t at a coffeehouse so I didn’t get to sit in a comfy chair for this and sip on a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The good news: We were on the NoNaMe Storyteller Podcast so the whole thing was recorded and is available now as the Season 6, July 24 episode.

The entire series is wonderful, and Brian and Aki have curated an incredible list of creatives for the show. I highly recommend checking out the whole series. You’ll probably see several must listen episodes when you do.

A Novel-in-Poems
Uncategorized

It’s Pub Day!

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My novel-in-verse, Bent Cedar Mountain, is officially in the world today. I’ll have a number of events this fall–readings, workshops, panels, appearances–to support this wonderful book, and I’d be happy to sign a copy for you when I see you whether you buy it today (hint, hint) or at later the event.

Early Praise for Bent Cedar Mountain

Julie Hensley’s Bent Cedar Mountain is a brilliant and beguiling poetic enacting novel-in-verse. This one is a fiery and fluid winner… [and] delivers a plot-driven poetic in scintillating passages, vignettes demanding our engagement in rendering the lives impressing one another in the land rich with life and loss . . . This book is at once delightful and a great escape. A must read, share, and return to read again. What a feat!

­—Alison Hedge Coke, author of Look At This Blue

A marriage is a lot like a farm. It can be a place of tenderness—or it can be a place of cruelty. Reader, in your hands is a parable about how that choice sometimes gets taken from us, a careful tale that shows abuse takes hold quietly, through small, hidden brutalities that accumulate until you wake up one day so afraid there’s nothing left to find but courage. Writing with lush detail and exacting empathy, Julie Hensley proves with this collection that she is one of Appalachia’s premiere storytellers. Bent Cedar Mountain will break your heart.

—Rebecca Gayle Howell, author of Erase Genesis

Uncategorized

New Book in Two Days; New Poems Right Now!

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I’m so pleased that we’re just two days away from pub day (August 15) for my novel-in-poems, Bent Cedar Mountain (Broadstone Books). As an appetizer, three of the poems from the novel–“Seepage,” “West Virginia Easter,” and “Spring Loaded”–were published online this past week at Salvation South. You can read all three read right now for free at the link, and there’s an audio version as well.

I’m so thankful to the editors at Broadstone and Salvation South for giving the publication of this project the same care and attention that I have given in writing it.

Appalachian, Books, Fiction, Literature, Novel

Five Oaks: Emotionally engaging, exceptionally memorable, and unreservedly recommended

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July 15, 2025

In her review of Five Oaks for Midwest Book Review, Kitty Johnson describes the novel as “A deftly crafted combination of a coming-of-age novel and a family/sisterhood story” before going on to call it “Emotionally engaging, exceptionally memorable, and unreservedly recommended.”

You can read the full review by clicking the the link above and scrolling to the General Fiction Shelf. And, of course, once you’ve read the novel I’d be so thankful if you added your own review on Amazon, GoodReads, or any other site that let’s you have your say.

Appalachian, Books, Bookstores, Feminist, Fiction, Literature, Novel

Five Oaks is #1 in Southern Fiction!

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On Monday, I woke up to the news that Five Oaks had landed at #1 in Southern Fiction on Amazon’s Bestseller List. It was also #2 is Sibling Fiction. Thank you all so much for your support of this book. I have so many events planned through the summer and into the fall, and I couldn’t have dreamed a better start than this. Hopefully, I’ll see you all down the road, be able to say hello, and sign your copy of the book.

Appalachian, Books, Bookstores, Fiction, Literature, Novel

Get Five Oaks at Your Favorite Indie Bookstore.

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One of my favorite things to do is stroll the aisles of a bookstore just to see what catches my eye. It’s even better if that bookstore is owned by a true book lover, maybe features some comfortable seating, or at least has a store cat.

In my neck of the woods (Kentucky), you can’t go wrong with Read Spotted Newt in Hazard and The Taleless Dog in Berea. There are several more I could name, but better still, it’s easy to find your local indie bookstore [ and my new novel 🙂 ] with a simple search online.

My go-to for a search is IndieBound where you can find a great store and buy local online or strolling the aisles (which is, of course, the best way to meet cool cats).

Appalachian, Books, Feminist, Fiction, Literature, Novel

Five Oaks Ready for Pre-Order

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You can start building your summer reading list right now by pre-ordering my debut novel, Five Oaks.

In the Arkansas mountains, three generations of fiercely determined young women are poised for self-discovery in a decades-spanning novel about the bonds of family and secrets.

Spending summer away from home for the first time, fifteen-year-old Wren Stone and her younger sister, Sylvie, arrive at Five Oaks, their grandparents’ Arkansas lake house. As it was for their grandmother and mother before them, it’s a place for coming of age, first love, triumphs and failures, and keeping secrets.

Free release day delivery on May 27 via Amazon–just in time for the beach, the lake, or wherever you like to cozy up with a good book.

Books, Feminist, Fiction, Literature, Novel

A New Novel in 2025!

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I’m so excited to share that my agent, Laura Usselman (Stuart Krichevsky Agency) has found a wonderful home for my novel, Five Oaks, with Lake Union Publishing. I’m hard at work with my editor, Chantelle Aimee Osman, and the rest of the team at Lake Union, and the book will be ready to launch in spring 2025.

Publishers Marketplace announcement from May 16, 2024
Literature, Uncategorized

Willow Springs Launch

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I was already so grateful to have my new poem, “Fossils,” forthcoing in Willow Springs, Issue 89. And now I’m ecstatic to see it alongside the great work of some writers I truly admire, including Ada Limon and David Dodd Lee. If you can (and you should), join us for the virtual launch party, March 5, 2022, at 6PM PST: https://ewu.zoom.us/j/99019696726

Books, Bookstores, Fiction, Poetry

Bookstore Review: Brier Books in Lexington

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BrierYou shouldn’t judge a bookstore by its cover. Or should you? Brier Books is located in the heart of the Chevy Chase district in Lexington, Kentucky where boutique shops and delicious eateries abound. Good–albeit, corporate–coffee and kitschy bars stand at the ready as well. The store itself occupies the first floor of a lovely cottage and shares some of the space with an art gallery. The inviting rainbow sign out front is hard to miss, and your GPS won’t have any trouble locating 319 S. Ashland Avenue in case you do happen to get distracted searching for parking. But there’s good news on that account too. Brier has a few spots out front and several more in its tidy parking lot around back.

When you step inside, you’ll find books from the big New York publishers as well as top indie and local presses tastefully arranged on bookcases that make it clear these titles were chosen and not spilled into a bin like the catch of the day. Owners Jay McCoy and Savannah Sipple are poets (each with several, wonderful publications), so asking for a book recommendation is always a great idea. And if you can’t find what you’re looking for on the shelf, they’re happy to track it down for you and have it delivered to the store.

Author events are also plentiful, so it’s never a bad idea to check their events calendar and time your visit to match a reading you’d want to go to even if you weren’t planning to buy a book: https://www.brierbooks.com/event

From the ambience to the offerings, Brier captures the essence of what an indie bookstore should be. If there were a guide to amazing indie bookstores, you’d dogear the page Brier Books is on and flip to it often.