Dahlonega
Literary Festival
An Annual Celebration of Readers, Writers, and Books
Patricia McAlexander
Originally from New York State, Patricia McAlexander earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Wisconsin and taught literature and composition at the University of Georgia. Now retired, she has published three contemporary romantic suspense novellas set in Georgia— the first two (both contest winners) in Athens, the third and most recent, on a fictional “golden isle” off the Georgia coast. Her short story “Falling,” which came in second in the Atlanta Writers Club’s 2021 Terry Kay Prize for Fiction, was published in the Fall 2022 issue of the online journal Knot. She lives in an historical house in Athens with her Southerner husband Hubert, also a retired UGA professor.
Shadows of Doubt
Former grade school bully and, later, amateur drug dealer Jeff Hudson turns his life around and is pursuing a degree in agriculture at the University of Georgia. His future, as well as a budding relationship with fellow student Sandy Harris, is threatened when the Atlanta dealer he once worked for threatens to expose Jeff’s past to university authorities if he doesn't rejoin the ring. Meanwhile Sandy, realizing that Jeff is no longer an angry, misunderstood boy, must take a stand against her family and friends who swear he is no good and will only cause her unhappiness.
The Student in Classroom 6
Although a faculty member has been killed on the University of Georgia campus and the murderer is still at large, English instructor Katherine Holiday never suspects the criminal might be one of her students. In fact, there’s a man in her adult evening class she wishes she could know better. Seeing no need for a college degree, Tyler McHenry, a partner in his father’s successful tree service, writes fiction for his own pleasure. No one at the University needs to know his personal reasons for enrolling in a first-year composition course. Still, he finds himself fascinated by the pretty teacher, who believes his writing should be published.
The Last Golden Isle
Ever since a traumatic experience as a college freshman, Clare Matthews has had an aversion to men. But when she goes to spend the summer on one of Georgia’s Golden Isles as a companion for her unstable cousin Sally, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious security guard who works on the family estate. When the feeling seems mutual, she hopes she has at last been healed. Then signs of his possible involvement in a dangerous criminal activity crop up, and Clare must make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.
