Inn-by-the-Bye Stories - 5

About the Book

In an endeavor to find a fresh way into the scriptural text upon which I would be preaching, I began to develop an imaginary world populated primarily by wee folk. I found the characters I developed and the way that they evolved in my mind and on the page served me well as a consideration of how I sensed things happening in the scriptural text at hand. I want to make these stories and the world they represent newly accessible, and so I bring them to book form fifty at a time. The cover drawing was done by Anne Sullivan, the author’s daughter. This is the artist’s conception of the root steps at the Narrows along the Valley Road. The cover drawing was done by Anne Sullivan, the author’s daughter. This is the artist’s depiction of the root steps at the Narrows on the Valley Road.

About the Author

I am a retired minister from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) living in the hills of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. I began writing these stories as a part of my background reflection for sermon preparation in August 1981; I continued the discipline for nearly twenty-five years. The changes in my circumstances twenty-two years into the process eventually brought the series to an end. I came to refer to my stories as fairy-tale exegesis of the text from which I would be preaching the following service. I now live in retirement with my wife of forty-seven years, two dogs, and several cats.