Stone City

Stone City is a work of historical fiction set in and around Stone City, Iowa, during the summer of 1969. As their society is being torn apart by war and racism, these star-crossed lovers will come together for one fateful week that will forever change the trajectory of their lives.

Ashley Morgan, thirty-eight, married and mother of three, is in Cedar Rapids for an educational conference. But a chance encounter with Jaymes Fitzgerald, a free-spirited, twenty-four-year-old college student and consummate blues player, prompts her to ditch the conference for them to spend time together. For her to learn about Eastern Iowa's art community, which in part evolved from Grant Wood's Art Colony Schools of the early '30s. One that Jaymes's dad, a renowned regional artist, had attended as a student.

An enlightening dinner soon evolves into an evening of "dancing on water." The following day, they visit historical Stone City, vestiges of Greene's estate, and Jaymes's favorite hangout-the town's General Store Pub. Hungering for more time together, the couple travel farther north on Jaymes's fiery red, Indian Chief motorcycle to see many of Iowa's scenic places and cultural interests. Throughout their odyssey filled with edgy scenes, they share deep-seated secrets before returning for the conference's concluding rooftop luau. After offering each other heartfelt toasts, they slip away into the night to express the depths of their epic love while bathed in flickering candlelight and strains of Dvořák's New World Symphony. Each oblivious to their inevitable destinies.