Tales of Zoalmont and the Melancholy Fringe

Mark Morelli wrote these stories during -- and about -- the end of an era in American culture. The World War II generation was retiring just as the rise the digital age began. These are stories of faith, family, heritage and community, of a Norman Rockwell world colliding with a 24/7 media age...

*A young woman tries to teach her nephew the beauty and joy of nature while he wreaks havoc in the woods.

*An aging war veteran struggles to reveal to a neighbor boy the secret of his war wounds.

*The estranged sons of an immigrant reunite at his death to justify their own lives.

*A woman expecting her first child fears what she sees from the others in Lamaze class.

And many other stories.

Morelli also satirizes reality talk shows, rock and roll idolatry and a man who uses technology to give his son a sex talk. Twenty-seven short stories. Published by Burtenshaw Media.

Mark Morelli states:

"I didn't know it at the time, but I was writing about a culture being pushed and pulled in the confluence of two worlds: A simple, traditional past that exploded into world war. And a mass media society two seconds away from exploding into global hyperspeed. It was a transformational moment. Some say the world got better. Others say worse. I didn't know then. I don't know now. All I wanted to do was use my imagination to shape what I saw and try to make some sense of it."