This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Philip C. Elrod was raised in Crossville, a small town on top of Sand Mountain in Northeast Alabama. He served two years in the US Army, stationed in Germany and returned to attend college at the University of Florida and Florida Southern College Majoring in Industrial Engineering and Economics.
Mr. Elrod resides, along with his wife of many years, Linda, and two wonderful little canine friends: Kokko, a five and half pound male Japanese Chin, and Tinker, a seven and half pound male miniature Shih Tzu. Tinker served as the inspiration for the fictional character, Mitch the Bitch. His interests include astronomy, photography, outdoor cooking and travel, especially RV travel with his wife and pets.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Secrets of Sand Mountain is a coming of age novel written by Philip Elrod. Campbell Crossing is a tiny town nestled in the Appalachian Mountain Range on Sand Mountain in Alabama. Mostly it’s a farming community, and in 1944, at the time this story begins, there were two churches, a movie theatre and one main store, Mr. Thompson’s General Store, with a bright red gas pump out front. Philip Campbell loved that store; it was filled with interesting things to examine and having a store meant Campbell Crossing was indeed a real town. When he found some old boxes stored under the counters, he asked Mr. Thompson if he could see if there was anything in them that could be sold in the store. Mr. Thompson agreed and Philip set to work. One of the boxes had a small cloth bundle which he carefully unwrapped. There was a string of pearls inside; they had luster and shine and seemed real, even to his untrained eyes. When he showed them to Mr. Thompson, the man grew pensive and a bit sad. He told Philip a story about a young couple who had run out of money and gas on their way out to California to find work. She offered him the pearls as surety for gas and said they’d exchange the money owed and the necklace when they reached the coast. He never heard from them again, and he never felt they were his to sell. But, he would let Philip help around the store for a few weeks to earn them.
Philip Elrod’s historical coming of age novel, Secrets of Sand Mountain, is told from the perspective of Philip, his Aunt Violette and Karl, a German-English doctor, and the story they tell is a marvelous one. I loved every aspect of this novel which has as its background the final years of World War II and the sad legacy of dysfunctional fathers and the impact their harshness can have on the lives of their families. I was fascinated by the way the author blends traditional medicine and healing into his tale and loved the parts of the tale set in New Orleans, Cuba and England. Elrod is a masterful storyteller. I found myself staying up late into the night rather than tear myself away from a story that had completely captured my interest and my imagination. Secrets of Sand Mountain is literary fiction that delivers a powerful and compelling performance, and it’s most highly recommended.
