Tales Press, Book Publishing



	Allah's Garden by Thomas Hollowell A cataclysmic plight and true account of a life torn by a forgotten war deep in the Sahara Desert of Morocco, the tale focuses on one of the longest-held prisoners of war in world history, taking readers deep into the Sahara sands – and venerated by Muslims as Allah’s Garden – to unveil its most shrouded secrets.
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	Iwo Blasted Again by Ray Elliott Iwo Jima Marine veteran Jack Britton has carried the horror of combat and the loss of his young wife and his buddies with him for the past 60 years. Now, in the last 36 hours of his life in a hospital intensive care unit, he revisits those aspects of his life and grapples with his long-suffering questions about fate and self-doubt through a psychological phenomenon known as sundown syndrome.
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	Wild Hand's Toward the Sky by Ray Elliott A coming-of-age story of the time during and after World War II, “Wild Hands Toward the Sky” introduces young, fatherless John Walter McElligott as he grows up — lonesome and longing — in a rural Illinois farm community.
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Read the Iwo Jima Association of America newsletter, The Black Sands.

Contact talespress@talespress.com or 217-384-5820 to schedule one of the following talks, a reading or a book signing.

James Jones: The Evolution of a Soldier and a Writer
This presentation focuses on the life and literary works of Illinois author James Jones. He experienced a concept he coined and wrote about in his WWII literature called "the evolution of a soldier." It describes a process by which individuals are trained to fight our country's wars and conflicts and how that process affects them personally – especially when they return to civilian life.

The De-evolution of the Soldier & its Effects on Others
This talk focuses on the immediate and lingering effects of war on those who fight them and on the loved ones left behind, based on extensive interviews and research with WWII veterans. Numerous anecdotes are included.

Cultural Journalism: Preserving our History & Culture
A society's culture is defined, in large part, by its stories. But many stories remain undiscovered – the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. This talk describes the process of creating oral histories and writing memoirs. Appropriate for students, families and any group interested in preserving its past.

Tales Press is a small regional press started to continue the cultural journalism mission of preserving the history and culture of people and places of times gone by. Founder Ray Elliott has long worked with projects of this type in both his writing and his teaching. Books published are those that reflect this mission.

He's been a farmer, a Marine, an oilfield roughneck, a high school English and journalism teacher, a dreamer and a schemer. But Ray Elliott also has been writing newspaper columns and stories that touch people's lives since 1977.

Ray's Bio

Ray Elliott has been writing a newspaper column for more than 25 years. Read about his observations of everyday life and visits with interesting characters.

Featured Writings


			Read articles from the Tales from the General Store Collection, a cultural journalism project that operated from 1981-1998, primarily in southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, to preserve the history and culture of the general store era of the rural Midwest.

	Featured Classics The Visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s House The Bellair Store Studs Terkel Baseball's Harry Caray Old-time Blacksmith A Hermit's Life Tales from a Storyteller

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