An “introspective, haunting tale that remains with us” (Heavy Feather Review) about a former revival preacher who walks away from an Eastern Kentucky prison in the 1970s, following a cat named Buffalo and trying to reconcile himself with his past. After Frank escapes from a prison in Eastern Kentucky, his journey to find meaning in the absence of his former life as a charismatic traveling preacher leads him all up and down the US and Canada, delving into his own memories and questions of faith, family, self, and stories—and where those stories lead us. Blake’s haunting prose captures the essence of a man on the brink of transformation, urging readers to ponder the thin line between redemption and damnation.

This novella-in-flash is the winner of the Etchings Press Book Prize and was published by the University of Indianapolis’ Etchings Press in 2024. It deftly uses short chapters in a unique format to allow for quick, intimate, and gripping flashes into the perspective of the main character, Frank, as he sets off on a quest through North America following a cat named Buffalo.

“A man escapes from prison only to find he can’t separate himself from his past. Wes Blake renders the tale with great empathy and in language that’s so lyrical it practically lifts from the page. Blake is a writer to watch.”
—Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever

“This was an utterly compelling read. Blake’s prose is sparse and simple, whose short, almost broken, sentences sing with enormous power.”
—SmokeLong Quarterly

Winner of the Etchings Press Novella Prize | Finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award for First Novel | Finalist for the Feathered Quill Book Award for Debut Author | Featured on Deep South Magazine’s Reading List