Todd’s Fiction Library
A collection of fictional works written by Todd Parnell
Pig Farm
An historical tall tale set in the context of a real life environmental tragedy, along side America’s first National River, the Buffalo.
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Pig Farm is a taste of the present spread over two centuries past, eight generations of the fictional Snarkle clan in all, grounded in the truth of a non-fictional travesty. It’s an historical tall tale set in the context of a real life environmental tragedy, along side America’s first national river, the Buffalo.
Brimming with humor and colorful characters, riddled with mystery and misfortune, tainted with prejudice and deceit, and laced with money and greed, fiction intersects with fact to paint a disturbing portrait of a “pig farm” over time.
Follow young Jebediah Snarkle and his family from his homeland in Tennessee to the newly minted state of Arkansas, where they discover Large Creek, and “the most beautiful place on earth.” His family’s competition with the Hensbells through decades and generations over everything from sustainable agriculture to money and politics simmers throughout, bursting forth in spurts of violence and greed, and even intermarriage. Pig Farm recounts their personal adventures, tragic events, and historical reference points with vivid descriptives and subtle humor, and discounts truth along the way.
At its core, Pig Farm is a recounting of how an ill-conceived and stupidly permitted pig CAFO along side America’s first national river might have come to be.
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“Todd Parnell has combined two of his great passions in this book. One is his appreciation for his family’s deep roots in the Ozarks. The second is his love for the streams and rivers he often floats and cares for so deeply.”
-Dr. John E. Moore Jr, retired president of Drury University
“His deep roots in the region, his devotion to the Buffalo River, and his appreciation for the late master Donald Harrington show through on each page of Pig Farm. It’s a bold book.”
– Dr. Brooks Blevins, Author and professor of Ozarks Studies, Missouri State University.
Ozarkian Folk Tales Trilogy
Skunk Creek (Ozarkian Folk Tale Trilogy Book 1)
Who knows what lurks in the deep, dark corners of the Ozarks?…
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Who knows what lurks in the deep, dark corners of the Ozarks?
A gruesome murder on the banks of Skunk Creek leads to a mystery and a rollicking adventure story. Populated by the crusading editor of a small town newspaper, an oversized Sheriff, a lovable band of merry misfits, and an evil cult, an Ozarks village is steeped in beauty, tragedy, love, and lust.
Hardlyville and her colorful, unforgettable Hardlyvillains bring laughter, tears, and celebration of life at every turn as they seek to prevail over natural and unnatural threats to their way of life.
Warning: Do not read if you blush or tire easily. Skunk Creek grabs readers from page one and rushes on through each disaster and fiasco. In the end, love of place and people carry the day to an unlikely conclusion.
Skunk Creek is rowdy, ribald, insightful, and grounded in Ozarks waters and history. It confronts and entertains amidst the vexing questions of our times.
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"A wonderful chockablock story, a memorable group of richly drawn characters and community, and a whopping good tale with a passel of good stories running throughout. Just when I thought I was headed to a finale, there was another twist! Absolutely, positively, just terrific. I didn't want to put it down!"
– Jane Brite, New York, NY
Swine Branch (Ozarkian Folk Tale Trilogy Book 2)
“Hardlyvillains wage a fierce battle to protect their precious waters and way of life.”
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What do a local environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions, a series of ghastly murders, corrupt state politics, a bedouin shivaree, crooked investment bankers, and Noodler's Anonymous have in common? Skunk Creek!
For Sheriff Sephus Adonis, congressman Pierce Arrow, and his true love Lettie Jones, justice is no longer an intellectual concept . . . it's a matter of life and death. From Hardlyville city hall to Washington, DC's halls of government, to the international stage, resilient Hardlyvillains wage a fierce battle to protect their precious waters and way of life. Hilarity abounds in their madcap and unorthodox rush to remain alive . . . and relevant.
Swine Branch is rowdy, irreverent, insightful, and grounded in Ozarks waters and history. It confronts and entertains amidst some of the most vexing questions of our times. A worthy follow-up to Skunk Creek.
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"Swine Branch is a colorful Ozarkian tale of murder, mystery, politics, history, and adventure. Chapters weave a series of incredible stories with colorful characters who keep you reading for more. It is a shadier side of the Ozarks with fantastic twists and turns from Hardlyville to Washington, DC to my own native Lebanon that makes any other roller coaster child's play."
– Rita Baron, architect and Drury University trustee
Donny Brook (Ozarkian Folk Tale Trilogy Book 3)
“The colorful characters of tiny Hardlyville are thrown into a panic.”
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The colorful characters of tiny Hardlyville are thrown into a panic when brutal murders, environmental disasters, corruption, and threats to their beloved and pristine Skunk Creek arise and upend their bucolic lives. Larger-than-life Sheriff Sephus Adonis, devoted newspaper editor Pierce Arrow, libidinous librarian Billious Bloom, and Hardlyville's most influential citizens are forced to contend with a community divided by greed and self-interest to solve the riddle of a mother's love vs. inherent evil.
Will the Hardlyvillains stop the murders and save their indispensable water?
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"Hardlyville. Where 'Dogpatch' meets 'Valley of the Dolls.'"
– Craig Endicott, retired editor, "Advertising Age"
"Todd Parnell's Ozarkian trilogy is not only a rollicking comedy of horrors, it's a tall tale of America's heartland that will resonate with anyone who cares about our rapidly-shrinking wild areas and all their precious flora and fauna. Parnell has spun a masterful yarn that could have come from the old master himself reborn—Mark Twain."
– Dr. Ken LeSure, author of Cold Feat
Society of Ozarkian Hillcrofters Fall 2022 Newsletter
Hayden Copeland reviews the Skunk Creek Trilogy
“What a joyful giggle! A world apart! My, what a place to grow up in! The language is beautiful…well, most of it! Wonderful book.”
- Pam Purcell, Elephant Rescue Activist, London, England
“Hardlyville. Where ‘Dogpatch' meets ‘Valley of the Dolls.'"
– Craig Endicott, retired editor, “Advertising Age"
Children of the Creek Trilogy
Wellspring of Evil (Children of the Creek Book 1)
Is existence a battle between good and evil, or evil and itself?
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Is existence a battle between good and evil or evil and itself? Hardlyvillains are about to find out.
The residents of Hardlyville, a small community nestled in the heart of the Ozarks, are a rollicking, friendly, loving bunch.
Hardlyvillains have seen it all. But now they're up against something they've never had to deal with before: evil for its own sake.
What do you do when evil is consumed by even greater evil? Hardlyvillains only know one way to fight something that terrifying, and that's with love, humor, and an overwhelming desire to help one another.
But will that be enough?
Rowdy, ribald, insightful and grounded in Ozarkian waters and history, Wellspring of Evil will always surprise, and generally raise an eyebrow or two.
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"With his melding of magic realism in the front porch-sittin' tall-tale tradition of the Ozarks, Todd Parnell weaves another tale about the bigger-than-life citizens of Edenesque Hardlyville."
- Fred Pfister, Founder, The Ozarks Mountaineer Magazine
Stream of Life (Children of the Creek Book 2)
What in the world is going on in the heart of the Ozarks?
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What in the world is going on in the heart of the Ozarks?
From a fouled Skunk Creek to Presidential shenanigans, mass extinction, threats of secession, and bizarre infestations, Hardlyvillains have had plenty of reasons to be hoppin' mad. Their town, their water, their very way of life seem always at risk—and now more than ever—as tainted water kills one of their own and the heads of murder victims start turning up around town. Is there a new yellow-eyed threat on the horizon?
Love, laughter, and hellbenders fill the void with hope and happiness as the Hardlyvillains' ever-resilient spirit rises to challenge after challenge.
Rowdy, ribald, insightful, and grounded in Ozarkian waters and history, Stream of Life will always surprise . . . and generally raise an eyebrow or two!
The Children of the Creek trilogy by Todd Parnell tackles important contemporary issues in the rich and colorful context of the Ozarks.
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"Todd Parnell's new trilogy is not only a rollicking comedy of horrors, it's a tall tale of America's heartland that will resonate with anyone who cares about our rapidly shrinking wild areas and all their precious flora and fauna."
- Dr. Ken LeSure, author, Cold Feat
Life is a River (Children of the Creek Book 3)
WHAT IF… What if Hardlyville is real? Really real?
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WHAT IF . . .
What if Hardlyville is real? Really real?
What if fiction dies at her doorstep, and merges with reality through the portal?
What if an author can descend into her own creation and be greeted with open arms by the children of the creek? Ms. Randi Pflander, author (fictional) of the Ozarkian Folk Tales Trilogy as well as the Children of the Creek Trilogy, is about to find out.
From Presidential politics to Hollywood drama, Life is a River will surprise, engage, and stretch your imagination.
Rowdy, insightful, and grounded in Ozarkian waters and history as always-hang on for a wild ride!
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"This new trilogy, Children of the Creek, continues Todd's passion for sustaining our water resources. It's set in the context of a bizarre and quirky story, both spoof and satire on contemporary politics, culture and small towns in the Ozarks."
- Dr. John E Moore, Jr., retired president of Drury University