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PARKERSBURG - A Marietta native has written a book about the fictional story of a young girl in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., and the troubles she faced growing up.
"Precious Ugly" by Rae Cline is about 13-year-old Clementine who lives in a van with her father, a preacher and cult leader.
"I did grow up with violence in the home," Cline said. However, the characters and stories also come from experiences with working with students as a teacher, she said.
"It is not my story, but we do share some spaces," she said.
Cline, 53, who resides in New York City, is the founding editor of "Eckleburg," a journal of literature and arts from many writers and artists that is published once a year. "Precious Ugly" is her first novel.
She has written shorter pieces that have been published in a collection, "The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals." Cline's stories and essays have been printed in "The Paris Review," "McSweeney's" the "North American Review" and "StoryQuarterly."
"Precious Ugly" is a work of Northern Appalachian literary fiction, Cline said. The story of Clementine, like stories by other authors, develop and grow and go beyond what was originally intended, she said.
"At some point you see something bigger than yourself," Cline said.
"Precious Ugly" is set in 1985 at Harpers Ferry and Jolo, W.Va., and is the story of Clementine's tenacity and resourcefulness and the kindness of strangers and breaking the cycle of domestic violence and generational trauma.
The book was a finalist for the Curt Johnson Prose and CRAFT's First Chapters Awards.
Cline has an affection for the area and the Appalachian culture.
Cline began writing "Precious Ugly" 14 years ago and is working on a second book of fiction, this one set in Rinard Mills in Monroe County on the Little Muskingum River. Her family is descended from Isaac Rinard, the namesake of Rinard Mills.
No. 2 may be ready next year, she said.
"Precious Ugly" is available at Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org and Amazon.com. The paperback is $21.99 and Kindle is $9.99.
The book is 226 pages and was published by 7.13 Books.