On The Cellmate: 'Although the work is fiction, the story was created from a true life experience on my father's side of the family. I was born and raised in the Appalachian area of Southwest Virginia. As a child, I would listen to the stories the men and women of my family would tell, most of them surrounding old or long dead members of the family. This one, in particular, tells the story of a night my great uncle Andy spent in jail. His cellmate was a boy who was hanged the following day for murder. The execution was the last one in Whitesburg, Ky and the impression the boy made on my uncle lasted. After hearing the story, it has always haunted me.'