Billy Dee of the Ozarks is as American as apple pie, vintage comic books, a love of neighbor, and of the Blues. A character driven narrative of Literary Fiction-Southern style. This means of course, a dash of magical realism. Against the backdrop of the Ozarks, a young boy named Billy Dee struggles to man up to life. His mother is an addict, his father in prison. It was never going to be easy. When a tragic incident brings Billy Dee under his neighbor Ella May's gentle guardianship, her house of comic books and Blues anchor forces which begin to shape his destiny. His destiny is further defined when adopted by a nearby relative, a Celtic Druidess, Madighan, and her 200-year-old companion, a bloodhound named Beaudreau, Boo to his friends. Fans of Southern fiction will appreciate the semi-rural locale and the blend of cultural and racial components that define what friends and family can be when allowed a touch of magic. A coming of age, family, love, friendship, and heartache. All the trappings of that which make us human, and for some, a bit more. In the words of Ella May, "May you never live in a world where good does not triumph over evil, and they is no Blues." This is not a story of whimsy, but of life. Man up and live it.
