I am just now rediscovering the American short story as a wonderful art form. And Jim is one of our best practitioners.
~Sherry Chandler
These are sophisticatedly written stories about unsophisticated people, case studies of relationships that are convincing enough to be real. Tomlinson is a masterful storyteller, original, convincing, resonant.
~Richard Taylor, professor and Resident Creative Writer, Kentucky State University
With his flawless ear for speech and great compassion and wisdom regarding measures of the human heart, Tomlinson drops us right into lives and situations that mesmerize and stun each and every time. Another fine collection from this very gifted writer.
~Jill McCorkle, author of Creatures of Habit: Stories
"Jim Tomlinson's work is very heartening evidence of the health of that beloved but often slighted form: the short story. " — Richard Bausch, author of Peace
With a vast scope including wars in Vietnam and Iraq, car dealers and high school teachers, this book never wavers from its profound embrace of humanity. —Chris Offutt, author of Kentucky Straight
Tomlinson stakes a literary claim that is not only geographic but also emotional. [He] offers a series of stories set in rural Appalachia, writing movingly of people struggling to find happiness in lives dictated more by economics than sentiment.
~Booklist
It's proof that perseverance and perspiration—as much as inspiration—are key to creating art.
~courier-journal.com
With a strong sense of place and clear, poetic language, award-winner Tomlinson breathes new life into timeless stories, creating a world that is foreign and yet deeply familiar.
~Joseph-Beth Bookstore Newsletter
The wisdom, the humor, the characters and the mysteries will keep you saying, 'Just one more story.' The collection will whittle away an evening effortlessly.
~Lexington Herald-Leader
Tomlinson's collection of stories will resonate with small-town Kentuckians, as it guides us through his characters' tragedies and humorous foibles, while maintaining their humanity as they seek redemption.
~news.uky.edu
"Tomlinson stakes a literary claim that is not only geographic but emotional." —Booklist
"Tomlinson's understanding of human nature allows him to relate to his readers, as well as to develop poignant and heartfelt narratives." —Pointsville Herald
"Tomlinson'stalent for storytelling prevails as he demonstrates his ability to evoke strong emotional responses" —Pointsville Herald
"Nothing Like An Ocean is a collection of 11 stories that adds the needed visceral, darker edge to the stereotypes of small-town life — or life anywhere for that matter." —Louisville Courier-Journal
"This book, written from the vantage point of Appalachian Kentucky...hits at the universal human condition in a series of short stories." —Moore to the Point
"Jim Tomlinson is a talented writer, brilliant and capable. In well-crafted pieces with masterful turns in the tales, Tomlinson writes the truth of rural Kentucky and gives it a place of dignity in literature." —Mary Popham, New Southerner
