In other words even thought the book carried the label "Banned in Joplin" it will be available at Joplin retail outlets in about an hour.
Devil's Messenger was originally published in 2006 a follow-up to my first novel and published book Small Town News which came out a year earlier.
The "Banned in Joplin" reference comes from the book being dragged into former Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff's battle against me three years ago. Huff described the book which was in the library at Joplin High School and Joplin middle schools as being pornographic and had it as well as copies of all of my books (including the books about the Joplin Tornado) removed from the shelves.
The book was also entered as evidence in my hearing on May 23 2013, with copies of the book provided by my attorney to R-8 Board of Education members. (And to this day, those books have never been returned to me.)
Though copies of the original publication of Devil's Messenger have turned up from time to time in local bookstores for the most part it has not been available locally for several years.
The thought of republishing the book with a different company occurred to me when former students have said to me over the years that they had fond memories of the book. It has always been one of my personal favorites and I am pleased to see it available once more.
By later this afternoon, the book will be for sale at Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin.
It is also available online at Amazon.com at the link below.
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