Melting the Blues

Winner of the 2016 Fauset Book Award in the Category of First Fiction

Set in Arkansas in 1957, the complexities of identity, yearnings for love and acceptance, and racial tension are all unmasked in the riveting literary drama, Melting the Blues, by debut author Tracy Chiles McGhee. Augustus Lee Rivers, a farmer and bluesman, has two obsessions: his relationship with the Duncan family and his desire to leave small town Chinaberry to become a musician in Chicago. When his plans are prevented by a devastating betrayal, Augustus is driven into the belly of the blues where he must reckon with his past if he is to move forward. This intriguing, multi-layered historical tale beckons readers down a red dirt country road to bear witness to an unforgettable time, place, and people.

"A brave, musical story rich with Southern history." -- Kirkus Reviews

Author: Tracy Chiles McGhee
Publisher: Gold Fern Press
Published: 03/06/2016
Pages: 270
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.61d
ISBN: 9780997135442

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2016 pg. 144

About the Author
McGhee, Tracy Chiles: - "Tracy Chiles McGhee is an award-winning, multi-genre writer and the author of the novel Melting the Blues. McGhee is the Winner of the 2016 Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Award in the category of First Fiction and the 2016 BIG Greater Orange County Chapter/Amber Communications Group, Inc. 4th Annual Literary Award. She received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards in the category of Mainstream Literary Fiction. She was a Finalist in the 2014 William Faulkner - William B. Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in the Novel-in-Progress category. In addition, she received an Honorable Mention for the Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award in the 2014 International Literary Awards presented by Salem College. She is the Co-Founder of the Literacy Empowerment Action Project. In addition, she is an Ambassador for the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. McGhee graduated from Catholic University Law School and Georgetown University and currently lives in Washington, DC. Her webpage is tracychilesmcghee.us."