Hank Cotton is a Truck Driver turned author. He mainly writes in the style of memoir, recounting his adventures over-the-road. He has an extensive backlog of stories to publish… Hank has made the Southern Writers Guild on Substack his literary home. And you can find many of his published stories there. Including, The Ugly Duckling, his debut novelette!
In this, his debut story–our hero Hank Cotton, is tasked with getting not only a travel trailer from Indiana to Florida; but also Jenny Deal, a thirteen year old runaway, who’s been kidnapped and the crooked cops are looking for her. Hank finds her hiding out in the back of his camper and he knows he has to save her.
Will Hank be able to outrun her pimp, and outsmart the crooked Alabama lawmen looking to stop him?
Find out how Jenny got in this mess – whether Brooke, Hank’s wife will understand why he’s got an underage sex worker with him, and whether Hank is able to get his cargo delivered safely in this novelette-length story titled, The Ugly Duckling.
The Ugly Duckling is available on the https://www.thesoutherncopywriter.com website: thesoutherncopywriter.com/books
as well as on Amazon worldwide - Amazon eBook link: a.co/d/8NbO0Ba ,
and for a limited time subscribers of the Southern Writers Guild can read it for free!
Closing:
As I said it in the introduction during the first episode of Lunchtime readings with Harriet:
Every day this week I came Live and read you a piece written by someone who is on Substack. Each piece is different and I like each for different reasons. I guess, to an extent I did discuss why I like each of these pieces.. and it’s alright. What we like is always subjective.
on Day 1 I read from primalbeet/ Rick West’s Antique Bastards series
on Day 2 I read Joe Nichols’s Two Dawns
on Day 3 I read Emma Steel’s How Should I Feel?
on Day 4 I read A Cold Wind Blowing by Marty D. Snow
and today, on Day 5, as a closing piece of this series, I read from Hank Cotton’s novelette, The Ugly Duckling.
The purpose of writing can be many things. It can be letting off the load, spilling the excess, making us think, clear our minds, come to a conclusion, entertain us or other things.
For me, as a reader, a good piece of writing is good because it moves something in me. Because it speaks to me somehow. And that’s what I am after. Something that I can resonate with or something that can make me feel in awe. Be it the choice of words or the descriptions or the conversation or what is unsaid but implied. You understand what you are reading. Not only with your brain, but with your heart.
I hope that these readings made you think or made you just sit in awe, in wonderment and when you woke from it, you decided that you wanted more. Not of my reading. But that writing or what that writing has awakened in you: Curiosity, hunger!
Thank you for your attention all week.
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Please click on the links of Introduction & The Field of Wildflowers to learn more.
And now: Have a good day!
Thank you and See you soon,
Harriet
Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.








