Folsom on Fire

Winner of the 2012 Critique My Novel - Novel of the Year

Canadian Ladies Book Club "Half our members gave it a 10 out of 10, which is unheard of for us "

"Orlando is a truly talented author." Rachel MacMillian (Canadian Ladies Book Club) Amazon Review

"This should be required reading for all students. I had our school librarian purchase copies."Canadian High School teacher - Canadian Ladies Book Club.

"I would have made this required reading for all of my students." Retired Milwaukee, WI English High School teacher.

"I wish I could write this good." - N.O. Amazon Review

"I highly recommend this book. It is a good book club read as it has much to talk about but it would also make a great movie " - Claudia Webb (Canadian Ladies Book Club)

"Wow " B. Eaves - Amazon Review.

"Just as "Uncle Tom's Cabin"is still relevant in today's world, so is "Folsom on Fire." - Pam Gallick - Amazon Review

"Folsom on Fire was immediately compelling . . . as if it had a life of its own. Orlando Smart-Powell has a wonderful style. I found the whole approach to a familiar story in history quite novel . . . well written . . .. This is fantastic " Esther - C.M.N.

Mary Cole may be a former slave, dark-skinned and built more like a man than a woman, but she refuses to let the whites of small-town Folsom, Mississippi, who seek vengeance for their loss in the Civil War, treat her less than any other person. Having suffered through multiple miscarriages and stillborn infants, and now pregnant again, the last thing she needs is anyone, white or Negroe, to question her worth as a woman. But Enda Sully, a mixed-race woman who the Negroes seek out in times of need, has foreseen a great evil coming to Folsom. That evil, born from the seeds of the Ku Klux Klan, feeds on racism, sexism and homophobia, and won't stop until its belly is sated. No one is safe now . . . not even the child Mary is determined to bring into the world.

The growing evil haunting Folsom, Mississippi won't stop there. Paul, a white teenage boy whom Mary has raised since birth and is coming to terms with being gay amidst constant bullying, is ripe to be plucked and devoured by the malevolence creeping through the town. Mary's handsome preacher husband, Lar, also finds himself entangled in evil's immoral web.

The match has been struck and the town of Folsom is about to descend into a firestorm of chaos. Mary has but only two choices now. She can bow her head and submit and lose those she loves, or she can summon unparalleled confidence and self esteem to save their lives. As the inferno of hate feeds on the animosity between black men and white women, straights and gays, and the ongoing subjugation of women, only Enda Sully-be she a crazy woman or a witch-knows how it will end.

Dissecting events in our present day by peeking into the window of the past, Folsom on Fire delves into the psyche of Racism, Coming out as Gay, Gender Roles, Self-Hate and Self-Love. What would you do to remain true to who you are? How far would you go to protect those you love? Folsom on Fire will make you question and strengthen the unconditional love you hold for those closest to your heart.

"Love your sense of humor. This is a great story . . . well told A very exciting turn of events in Folsom on Fire." Catherine - C.M.N.