Standalone Novels
Zelmer’s standalone novels trace the lives of authors from Black Springs Press and other notable figures in his fictional world. Each book centers on a different literary or public figure, and together they form Zelmer’s imagined history of the twentieth century, beginning with the First World War and ending in the early twenty‑first. Through intimate scenes and pivotal moments, readers watch these characters become writers and witness how extraordinary people survived one of history’s most turbulent centuries. The novels examine the relationships, influences, and transformations that shaped their identities and reveal the untold side of literary inspiration and historical experience.
First Edition paperback
kindle/hardback cover
For most people, going to college is the beginning of their lives away from their parents when they search for the meaning of their lives. Not so for Bobbie Lamont, who chooses to stay at home with her parents instead of moving away. After graduating from Saint. Augustine Academy for Girls and then falling in love with Malcolm Pryce, Bobbie was ready for the next stage of her life, attending Tulane University. Once again, her only friend is Billie Carver, who also attends Tulane. So are Angie Stone and Sarah Connor, two girls who made Bobbie's life miserable at St. Augustine. They will continue to torment her. The next four years of her life will change Bobbie. She continues to search for her place in the world, wondering how to turn her love of reading and writing into a career. The experiences she goes through with various men teach her that love and sex can be nothing but trouble at times. It was republished in January 2021 and is available on Amazon in ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook formats.
kindle/hardback/audio book
In October 1974, a year away from tenure and fulfilling her dream of becoming a full-time professor, Isabel Mathew seems to have it all. But behind her charismatic teaching and respected reputation lies a secret that could bring everything crashing down. Her forbidden affair with a graduating student, Raymond Walker, threatens to destroy everything she's worked for. The only people who know are her drinking buddies, history professor Malcolm Hoffman, and writer-in-residence Henry Young Jr.. Still, when her father falls ill and she heads to Nashville to visit him, she has no idea that the next four days will change her life forever. It was published in October 2024 and is available on Amazon in ebook, paperback, and hardback.
paperback cover
After forty years of chasing a dream that never quite came true, Henry Ray Daniels returns to Phoenix to finish the memoir he believes no one will ever read. Haunted by failure, family secrets, and the temptation to give up on life itself, he expects only closure. Instead, he reconnects with Michelle Connor, a celebrated memoirist and journalism professor carrying scars of her own.
As their unexpected relationship deepens, Henry Ray is forced to confront the past he has spent a lifetime trying to understand—an estranged cousin whose success overshadows his own, a mother whose hidden history could shatter everything he believes about his family, and a manuscript that may finally be the book he was meant to write.
Spanning generations of writers, teachers, dreamers, and broken hearts, Heritage Road is a sweeping Southern family saga about forgiveness, second chances, and the stories we inherit. At its heart lies a powerful question: How do you move forward when the truth about where you come from changes everything?
Warm, poignant, and emotionally rich, Heritage Road celebrates the enduring bonds of family, the healing power of love, and the courage it takes to tell your own story. It will be published next month, in August.