It's not easy for people to find their place in the world, especially in a small coal town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. Pushed to enter politics via an opening in the county attorney's office, Takis Tsegellis eventually rises as the town's favorite son but ultimately leaves in disgrace. His story is detailed in a new novel released by Dog Ear Publishing.
When Takis returns to town to give the eulogy at his uncle's funeral, it forces him to confront his deep feelings for the place that shaped him, both the good and the bad. Although he spent 40 years trying to help via his public service and community projects, his efforts don't appear to matter, and the rejection still stings.
"Tales of a Small Town King" aptly paints a picture of a small town shaped by isolation, drugs, crime, poverty and political corruption. Its main characters share attributes found in people all over the country: hard-working immigrants who face challenges but are doing the best they can. The novel, which received the Dog Ear Publishing Award of Literary Excellence, finds its roots in the author's own life with literary embellishments to round out the narrative.
Author Antony Takis Tsegellis, a federal judge, brings plenty of writing experience to this project. He spent four years in high school and college as a sports columnist for a local newspaper and wrote a few feature articles for a sports magazine.
Tsegellis also has 22 years of legal writing experience as both a lawyer and a judge. In addition, he dabbles in poetry and has "compiled an enormous list of limericks and couplets for another book idea down the road," he said.
This is the first novel for Tsegellis, who said Dog Ear Publishing's staff have guided him "wonderfully from start to finish."
"Sometimes (Dog Ear's) intuition is immediate and accurate. Megan helped me understand the right plan for the book during my initial inquiries, and the rest of the team – whether Ray or Stephanie during the editing process, or now Matt, Chris, and Amber in the sales and marketing area – have never failed to respond kindly and promptly to even the most trivial, inexperienced questions," he said.
Tsegellis grew up in the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern Kentucky. He is a federal judge and spent more than 20 years as a small-town lawyer. He enjoys giving back, founding founded a Boys & Girls Club in his hometown and coaching thousands of children in middle school and high school in basketball, football and baseball. Tsegellis lives on Whitemarsh Island, Georgia. His children, Antony and Androhami, are grown.
For additional information, please visit www.talesofasmalltownking.com.
Tales of a Small Town King
Author
Dog Ear Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4575-6652-3 190 pages $14.95 US
Available at Ingram, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and fine bookstores everywhere.
Dog Ear Publishing partners with authors to shape content that resonates with readers as diverse as the books we publish. Our mission is to leverage expertise, technology and relationships to form a meaningful and lasting bond between creators, content and culture as a whole. Dog Ear Publishing is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and can be contacted by phone at (317) 228-3656 or through www.dogearpublishing.net.
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