Literary/Historical Fiction
Date Published: 8/12/25
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Narrator: Scott Brick
Run Time: 8 hours and 35 minutes
Haunted by a shadow from the past, a young farmer attempts suicide beneath a rotting burial elm, unearthing a dark ancestral history. But deep beneath the diseased generational roots lies a powerful secret — one that could save both the man and the land.
Interview with Alex Woodard
What is your favorite part of the book?
The end.
See? Made you want to read the whole thing, right?
Honestly, my favorite part (as far as writing process) was the first chapter. The narrative fell out of me, as if I was just a channel for something else. That’s how I knew I had to keep going.
Does your book have a lesson? Moral?
Yes…you get out what you put in. From your body to mind and spirit, from the land to your relationships...everything reflects what you give it.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
The two main characters are loosely based off of real people…a real doctor and real farmer, whose lives intersected in real life.
Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Probably the main character’s brother, Adam. He’s the guy that makes the worst decisions, but has the biggest heart. I’m a sucker for heart.
What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?
Ironically, the main character. I tend to get impatient with people who are so stuck in their ways that they won’t make a change, even when all the evidence points that way.
What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
Well, that’s a good question considering my answer to the previous one! He’d probably say I was a little quick to judge guys like him, but my heart is in the right place. He’d be right.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
In this case, both. The sequel to Ordinary Soil is being released this month, and I’m in the middle of writing the third in the trilogy. I want a reader to be able to pick up any one of them though, and not wonder what the heck is going on.
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