Recipient of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award
In 1996, eight months before historic storms deluge Northern California, idealistic young nurse, Lauren, arrives in the remote Gold Rush town of Stewart’s Camp. She’s come because of a house—an old one with character—just the sort she’s always wanted and finally has. Sort of.
It’s bigger than she pictured it, filthy, run-down, packed with junk, and soaked in foreboding, but Lauren won’t be deterred. Determined to clean up the mess and find her place in this community of endearingly flawed individuals, she begins a daunting restoration project and an unlikely apprenticeship with the town’s aged healer.
But Lauren’s plans are disrupted by the return to town of Gwendolyn, a business-minded madam with her own claim to the old Stewart Mansion and her own plans for the place—plans that will force Lauren to fight for her inheritance and plans that could push Stewart’s Camp to its breaking point, putting it on course toward the reenactment of a dark past.
"I recommend Marble and Mud to readers who enjoy small-town stories, eccentric characters, and thoughtful explorations of purpose, relationships, love, grief, and finding meaning in ordinary acts of kindness.”—Literary Titan
" Loved this book! It was an immersive read that I couldn’t put down."
"Thompson’s story reflects an uncommon depth of development, resulting in a delightful blend of legend and real life. The small town quirkiness was familiar and amusing. But Thompson’s patient navigation of deeper themes, including fear, grace, and restoration, reveals her wisdom. This is where she shines: by weaving a story whose tension keeps you locked in while raising questions truly worth pondering. A wonderful read."
"... a fun story, with unanticipated plot twists that keep you wondering what's going to happen next."
New! Twin Brooks Press Paperback Edition
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K. E. Thompson’s debut novel and the first in the Stewart’s Camp Saga, Marble and Mud explores a world of dark redemption and earthy transcendence deeply rooted in place and time. Thompson believes in maximizing the page-turning power of a good plot without sacrificing depth or the extraordinary power of fiction to tell the complicated truth.