Award winning author Carl Parsons grew up in the Mid-Ohio Valley of West Virginia, where many of his stories are set. He obtained a BA and MA in English Literature from West Virginia University and completed PhD coursework at the University of Pittsburgh. He also has a MS in Manufacturing Management from Kettering University. After a long career in the auto industry, which included management positions in labor relations and manufacturing operations, he retired to a second career of writing, teaching, and volunteer work. He taught writing and literature for Walters State Community College and worked as an associate editor for crime fiction with <em>Fiction Magazines. </em>Currently, he serves as a Master Gardener for the University of Tennessee Extension Office in Sevier County (TN) and leads the Classics Book Club of Sevier County.<br>His publication credits include eleven short stories appearing in <em>The Broadkill Review</em>, <em>The Raven Review</em>, Scars Publications, and Spillwords Press, which has serialized his novel <em><strong>Locust Hill</strong></em>. He is a member of West Virginia Writers, Inc. He is also a Literary Titans Book Award Winner for <em>Trios </em>and Contributor of the Year (2023) for Spillwords Press for his novel <em>Locust Hill.</em>
