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Set in Akron, Ohio, in the summer of 1984, the novel follows a visiting troupe of revivalists and the desperate locals they attract. Told through interwoven perspectives, Revival illuminates nine characters at moments of quiet collapse: the grieving, the searching, the displaced, and the mistreated. As the revival continues, hidden truths surface, revealing the characters' interconnectedness and their shared yearning for grace.
Atmospheric and emotionally resonant, the novel evokes the loneliness and hidden lives of the characters in Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, while recalling the dark domestic tensions in A. M. Homes’ Music for Torching. Ross crafts a deeply human story marked by haunting beauty, moral ambiguity, and compassion for the inner turmoil of those in crisis.
Praised by award-winning author Rhonda Browning White, Revival has been called “a powerful debut novel… The characters are compassionate, cruel, hilarious, and heart-wrenching. They are unafraid, like the charlatan evangelist leading them in revival, to ‘storm the gates of Eden’ in their quest for what they believe to be the truth. This is a novel to read, and read again.”
Ross, who serves as Dean of Libraries at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans.
Bringing books to market, one manuscript at a time!
Since 2017, Redhawk Publications at Catawba Valley Community College has been proud to bring distinctive voices and original books to life, with more than 200 titles published so far. We are one of only a handful of community colleges in the United States with a literary press. To learn more about Redhawk, our submission guidelines, local literary services, or writing workshops, feel free to contact Patty Thompson at pthompson994@cvcc.edu.
Books are available for purchase through our website and directly from our authors at book events. We encourage readers to support authors and small presses by buying directly whenever possible.