“Entrancing, edgy, and melodramatic tales with a palpable bite…Watts writes with a profound, confident voice.“
KIRKUS REVIEWS

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR ECHOES FROM THE HOCKER HOUSE…

• CATEGORY FINALIST, 2024 ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARDS
• 2024 DA VINCI EYE FINALIST
• 2024 FEATHERED QUILL BOOK AWARD WINNER (BRONZE)
• 2023 KIRKUS BEST INDIE BOOK SELECTION
• 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE

Virgina Watts’ multi-award-winning debut collection delivers the goods from cover to cover with 15 compelling short tales. Here’s a taste of what’s in store…

In “Dollhouse,” young Deirdre survives a day sure to haunt her while serving as a source of strength, for when she visits a sickly, bed-ridden great uncle whose glass eye rests within a jar under his bed… watching Deirdre’s every move.

An old woman dressed in black mysteriously appears one morning in a rural coal mining town, shortly after a mine shaft collapse claims the lives of several local miners. Known as “Queenie,” she lives in an Airstream silver bullet trailer perched on the edge of Black Hawk Mountain. The locals believe she is the soul of their mountain, but why has she come?A group of neighborhood friends sets out to discover what 13-year-old Jeff actually witnessed after he swears to have seen “weird” Mr. Hocker pushing a dead body in a black garbage bag to the top of their street. Was Jeff’s imagination playing tricks on him, or is something sinister afoot? The title story, “The Hocker House,” holds the answers.

These and other unsettling stories—fifteen in all—await you.

• Aerial View
• The Bitterest Winter
• The Echoes in Gleeva
• Elias Wolf
• Queenie
• Homecoming
• Dollhouse
• Due North
• Starscraper
• The Shadows Outside
• Mystery Box
• August
• The Hocker House
• Scar
• Just About There

ECHOES FROM THE HOCKER HOUSE, a National Book Award nominee, will keep you on the edge of your seat until you fall off. Don’t miss this fantastic, one-of-a-kind collection, destined to become a classic!

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Reviews

Kirkus

“Most of these U.S.–set tales, unfolding during various decades—from the 1960s and ’70s to the present—deliver countless nods to things distinctly American, like Disney films, Starbucks, and classic TV shows. This nostalgic touch will draw in readers, along with believable characters (for instance, a girl being irked by her incessantly abrasive grandfather, and a 40-something woman mourning the loss of her beloved twin brother years after his death).”

Read the full review:

READER REVIEWS

“Echoes From the Hocker House” is an introspective short story collection by Virginia Watts that explores tales about foiled expectations and ineffaceable events in everyday American life. With impressive candor and lucid exposition, the stories follow characters who sustain the dicey footing of their high-strung situations and often opt for their way of satiation. For example, in Watts’ “Aerial View,” a woman’s dark and shadowy dreams are tied to her lonely and unhappy life on the farm. She finally makes a hasty decision to leave all she has known throughout her miserable life and find her happiness at any cost.

Elsewhere, in “In Echoes In Gleeva” a reverend reveals an unsettling confession after the death of a middle-aged woman whose body ends up mesmerizing many. “The Bitterest Winter” reveals a woman’s struggles to fit into their new hometown, Chicago, after begrudgingly moving to follow her husband’s desire. Altogether, the natural topography adds tension and a touch of uncertainty and precariousness to these compelling narratives. For example, in “The Echoes in Gleeva”, the author writes,

Clifford’s scream escaped through the window that night, echoed in the deep gut of the valley, a wide mouth cradling a dense forest, a lumber mill on the bank of the Harpeth River, and the Village of Freys, Population: 577.

These uncanny stories unfold in layers to reveal piercing truths in twists and turns that readers will least expect. Indeed, family, memory, and childhood are the book’s recurring themes. There is much to love in this anthology. In addition to providing a crisp outlook on the natural world, each story is eloquently written, laden with remarkable exemplification and a lyrical style that makes for quick reading. Also, the font choice has a polished feeling that complements the vignettes in the text and their themes.

Often, protagonists in many of the tales here look back on their personal history, resulting in an engaging dialogue between the past and the present. For example, in “Homecoming” the author lets readers in on Jilian Reese’s inward musings as she recalls some of her childhood memories. Jilian continues to sip her tea contemplatively as she awaits inspiration to strike for her to begin searching for something to wear for the homecoming of her fiancée who is deployed in Afghanistan. Overall, I must say Virginia Watts has penned a winner in this absorbing short story collection.

“Echoes From the Hocker House” by Virginia Watts is by all means a major addition to her visionary and bold works. Watts has managed to pique my interest in this genre. Highly recommended!

Author Interview

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Also by Virginia Watts