MY GOODREADS REVIEW of @jdclappwrites "Grit Before Grace" (@CowboyJamboree) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Grit Before Grace by JD Clapp "When I read the description of this novel, I knew I had to read it. The main character, Jim Jackson, appealed to me even before I met him on the page because like me, he's a writer living with grief and regrets he's tried to bury at the bottom of a bottle. I was also intrigued that the author JD Clapp told us right up front that his main character is dying. We're told on the cover he's got a tumor growing on his brain, and the clock is ticking-- he's running out of time to write his last book and most importantly, to make peace with the people in his life. I lost my best friend to brain cancer so perhaps I was destined to love this one. Having lived next door to my friend and watched her daily decline, I was interested to discover how the author would portray a character whose life slowly then suddenly changes when a tumor affects motor skills, speech, etc. I was most interested in the character Jim Jackson-- what would he do with the limited time he had left and how would the author end the book since the dying man is narrating for us? Jim Jackson is a hunter, and his hunting expeditions take us through some of the most vivid and gorgeous settings I've read in a novel in a long while. You'll be swept away with "bald eagles, swirling flotsams, black bears on rocky beaches", "krill moving in unison.. with the grace of a single dancer...the whale exhales, turning the surface into what looked like a boiling cauldron." Clapp's descriptions of nature will make you want to walk in the woods and sit in the quiet. I could write pages for this review to tell you some of the brilliant techniques JD Clapp employed to make all of this happen, but you're going to have to read this for yourself. And I highly recommend that you do. For me, the ending of this novel was unforgettable. Admittedly, the tension throughout much of the book remains relatively static, but as you near the end, it tightens to the point you can't stop turning pages. It's so emotionally tense, and the way Clapp ended this one made me cry so hard for so long that it's taken me a couple weeks to finally write this review. This book is for those who like to think while they read. For those who like to climb inside the characters' bodies and feel with them, to remember their own regrets, their own pain, maybe attempt to work out some issues in their own mind while they watch fictional characters wrestle their demons on the page. This book is for nature lovers and word lovers. In my humble opinion, I'd say this book is for everyone." --REVIEWED BY TRACIE ADAMS

In #119 we welcome back a HAWKEYE veteran, JD Clapp (@jdclappwrites), who offers us a sad and brutal story rife with addiction and abuse. Roll up your sleeves, folks—this story packs one hell of a punch. Read “Here Lies a Coke Whore.” Cheers, JD! 🍸 hawkeyemag.com/stories/jd-cl…

GRIT BEFORE GRACE, the gritty and poignant new novel from @jdclappwrites, is out this Tuesday from Cowboy Jamboree Press. Cover painting by the author’s mom. Look for it.