Faces in the Flames

Advance Reader Copy

Genres

Rural, Literary Fiction, and Short Stories

Trigger Warnings

Violence, Profanity, Abuse, and Death

Type of Ending

Series

Not part of a series

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Aug 25, 2026

Page Length

171 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Faces in the Flames

Advance Reader Copy

Blurb

A wildfire encroaches on a small California town affecting the lives of those who live there.

Based in the rural town of Stone Lake, California, the thirteen interrelated stories of Faces in the Flames follows an array of damaged characters as they attempt to understand their lives as a wildfire rages across the surrounding hills. From characters born and raised in the town to transplants from other countries, each person’s story reflects the cultural, racial and generational dilemmas simmering under the American small town.

From a Vietnamese family mistaken for being Chinese, a Pomo boy struggling with his name, a girl as emotionally fragile as her porcelain dolls, a Mexican boy possibly stricken with the stigmata and a genius prodigy who struggles to find belonging, each story reveals the cultural and social complexities of small-town relationships and the lengths we go to forge our own identities.

Faces in the Flames follows in the steps of Sherwood Anderson and Denis Johnson with insight and veracity.

Details

Genres

Rural, Literary Fiction, and Short Stories

Trigger Warnings

Violence, Profanity, Abuse, and Death

Type of Ending

Series

Not part of a series

Author Prefers A Review On

Goodreads, Amazon, BookBub, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books

Reader Spots Remaining

Number of days to read

Publication Date

Aug 25, 2026

Page Length

171 pages

Available Formats

ePub and PDF

Author

N.T. McQueen is an avid writer and dedicated college lecturer. With a master’ s degree in fiction from California State University, Sacramento, McQueen has brought unique perspectives on human nature to readers in his captivating novels Never Hide from the Devil (Cennan, 2026), The Cry of Dry Bones (2021), Between Lions and Lambs (2011), and the collection Faces in the Flames (Silent Clamor Press, 2026)

His writing has been featured in North American Review, Stonecoast Review, Entropy, Sunlight Press, Atticus Review, Dappled Things, Grief Digest Magazine, and Foreword Magazine. He lives in California with his wife and daughters and enjoys fishing, traveling, and a tasty cup of coffee.

Publisher

Silent Clamor Press