Hillsboro Publishing, LLC

The Snappy Cola Clock

and Other Colby County Stories

ISBN-979-8395034717

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Seventeen stories set in Colby County, Illinois and part of the same universe that includes Trombone Answers, The Rocheville Devil, and Love and Corn and Whatnot. Who's playing the mournful flute in Pinefield Cemetery at every new moon? How are the same kids winning so many bingo games at the Colby City Fish Fry? Why is Bruce Medlock so obsessed with the old Snappy Cola clock at the Sweetpea Cafe? Told in Donovan's smooth and dry narrative style, these stories reflect smalltown life at its warmest, strangest, funniest, and most unexpected.

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The Readers Speak...

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"Excellent." --Jim

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A reader named Jim left this five-star review on Amazon back in September 2025, and I was curious to know more about this man of few words. I clicked on his name and was taken to a page of all his reviews. Every single review was five stars and one word: "Excellent." I wanted to see what other books he considered excellent, but mine was the only book on the page. He had also given five stars to a souvenir shot glass from London, a headphone adapter, some starter fluid, a women's long-sleeve shirt, some Givenchy perfume, the Apple iPad, the movie "Babe," a replacement grill igniter, guitar strings, air filters, white chalk, bungee cords, a men's linen shirt, an aluminum cane, a screen repair kit, and a bottle of mold and mildew remover.

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I don't know about you, but that makes me feel pretty good about this short story collection.