Jeffrey Penn May


Biography

Jeffrey Penn May has won several short fiction awards. His story “The Wells Creek Route” received a Pushcart Prize nomination, and his novel Where the River Splits, an excellent review in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Merging his outdoor interests with his writing, Jeff has published mountain climbing articles, short stories and poems. He has also written education articles and technical writing guides. His work has appeared in the US, UK, and Canada. He wrote and performed a short story for Washington University Radio and was a consultant to a St. Louis theatre company.

After earning his a B.A. in English and Psychology, a Masters in Secondary Education, and a Writer’s Certificate from the University of Missouri, Jeff worked as a waiter, hotel security officer, credit manager, deck hand, technical data engineer, creative writing instructor, and English teacher. He was the principal of a small alternative school where he organized a fund-raising, climbing expedition and appeared in television and radio spotlights.

Born at Fort Ord near Monterey, California, and raised in St. Louis, Jeff comes from a family of all boys and has always been compelled to explore the outdoors, leading to many questionable “vacations.” His adventures include, but are not limited to the following: floated a home-built wood and barrel raft from St. Louis to Memphis, navigated a John boat to New Orleans, drove an old Volkswagen alone 8000 miles around the west, spent a month in a dirt floor shack in west-central Mexico digging for Pre-Colombian artifacts, climbed mountains from Alaska to South America, and spent several days in the Amazon jungle. Jeff teaches writing and fly-fishing and so far, he has survived more than twenty years of marriage and two teenagers.

Where to find Jeffrey Penn May online


Books

Eight Billion Steps: My Impossible Quest For Cancer Comedy    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $4.99 USD. 75130 words. Published on April 28, 2013. Nonfiction.

"Eight Billion Steps: My Impossible Quest For Cancer Comedy" is about (as may seem obvious) finding humor in cancer. After Jeff was diagnosed with an extremely large and rare salivary gland tumor on the back of his tongue, throat and jaw, he and his wife began their fun-filled search for treatment.
The Wells Creek Route and Other Stories    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $2.99 USD. 24200 words. Published on February 18, 2013. Fiction.

The Wells Creek Route explores mountains and randomness. In Pluggin’ Leaks, a deckhand deflects his future. In Desolation Peaks, he seeks solace in mountains. In The Deaf Woman’s TV, he dates while empathizing with an old woman. Hazards of Bat Guano is about fly-fishing, bats, and streams. Sunfish is about you and fish. Cynthia's Currents looks at decades flown by and Cynthia who refused to go.
Cynthia and the Blue Cat's Last Meow    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $2.99 USD. 18900 words. Published on July 16, 2012. Fiction.

Written in a poetic style reminiscent of Richard Brautigan, "Cynthia and the Blue Cat’s Last Meow" is a story of red berries and howling caverns, fury and fishing, moonlight and candlelight, where we dream of blue cats and idyllic sensuality. The offbeat natural setting progresses into a rich ménage of unusual happenings and vivid colors, a land where many of us would like to visit.
Roobala Take Me Home    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $2.99 USD. 126660 words. Published on May 20, 2012. Fiction.

ROOBALA TAKE ME HOME is a grand comedic novel applying western themes to a futuristic Earth and space frontier, written in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan, and Douglas Adams, full of romance, sex, adventure, mystery, literary and cultural allusions, and financial crisis.
Finding Your Fiction: Concise Steps to Writing Successful Fiction    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $0.99 USD. 10220 words. Published on April 16, 2011. Nonfiction.

A condensed fiction writing guide for motivated writers who want to focus more on their own writing than reading about how to write. A poor person’s MFA.
No Teacher Left Standing    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $2.99 USD. 97330 words. Published on March 10, 2011. Fiction.

Are public sector workers, including teachers, overpaid? Do they have “cushy” jobs? "No Teacher Left Standing" is a novel energized by current educational debates. While the characters are entirely fictional, the events are based on true stories. Suspense in an unusual setting, an elementary school. Think you know about teaching? Think again.
Where the River Splits    by Jeffrey Penn May
Price: $2.99 USD. 80110 words. Published on July 1, 2010. Fiction.

Relationship suspense for wilderness lovers. David and Susan Brooks canoe white water trying to save their marriage. The canoe capsizes and strands them on opposite sides, believing the other dead. David discovers his wife has survived. Satisfied she is okay, he decides not to reveal himself. As Susan copes with his "death," David begins a new life. But can he start over? Author Guaranteed.

Jeffrey Penn May’s tag cloud

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