The Long Man's Pillow

As a catastrophic drought plagues the United States, Vicki Truax, a lonely Baltimorean, inherits land outside a remote Appalachian town. Amid the quirky townsfolk, she finds herself at home for the first time in her life. Vicki meets and befriends Alaric, an eccentric local who supplies townsfolk and moonshiners alike from his own meager water source. But danger lurks; a merciless businessman with a lucrative well attempts to seize her land, and water thieves roam her land at night, attempting to tap an aquifer. When Vicki discovers a small spring on her land, fears of a water war force her to keep the knowledge to herself. But Alaric’ s source runs dry, and a poorly planned raid ends in the collapse of Steen’ s well. Now Vicki’ s land is the only source of water, and she’ s left to decide who gets water and who dies.

A lifelong story-lover and professor of anthropology, Julie Castillo has a passion for novels and films that explore social problems and global issues. She gravitates toward post-apocalyptic, dystopian, and survival stories that explore the human experience and reveal what’ s best about humankind. She currently lives as a digital nomad with her husband and two dogs.