Making Arrangements

The death of Colin Madsen's beloved father brings Colin home to the small town of Concord, Massachusetts, facing a decision to keep or sell the family funeral home. Colin himself has no interest in the business, but he wants to make sure his father's legacy is continued. As Colin struggles with the decision, he reconnects with Ava, his childhood neighbor and friend. Colin and Ava seem like an ideal match, but when Ava becomes unemployed and takes a corporate job in funeral home acquisitions, the seemingly innocent move sets off a chain reaction of problems that threaten their relationship and the existence of the funeral home Colin wants to protect. BRENT ELIOT PARKER is also the author of the sports murder mystery Breakdown at Clear River, nominated for a Weatherford Award in Outstanding Fiction by the Appalachian Studies Association in 2012. His short fiction has appeared in Speck Literary Journal, Apex Books, Crack the Spine Literary Journal and others. Eliot earned his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Eastern Kentucky University and currently teaches writing and literature at Mountwest Community and Technical College in Huntington, West Virginia.