NUTGRASS IS A NOVEL BY LINDA M. SIMMONS

Nutgrass, a literary novel, released by Southern Charm Press.

         NUTGRASS AND MOONSHINE

What do nutgrass and moonshine have in common? In the real world, they might occupy the same wooded area and many who must deal with their presence despise both. Nutgrass is also a novel by Linda M. Simmons, published by Southern Charm Press, and set to be release in June 2001. This novel does not deal with the devastating destruction of a weed on crops but on the devastating destruction of a young mans ideas while dealing with the Society", a moonshine operation in the foothills of North Carolina.

Simmons chose the name Nutgrass" for her novel because she remembers chopping away at it in cotton and tobacco fields during her growing up years. Nutgrass grows from a bulb but also has roots that grow deep and out" Simmons explains. To the horror of farmers and gardeners, it pops up again and again all over fields and gardens."

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, nutgrass is the worst weed in 92 countries.

I chose nutgrass for the title of my novel because I needed a word that would portray my characters mind-set," Simmons said in a recent interview. A word that would explain how an idea forms in a persons mind, and even though it is replaced with explanations and reasons it still grows back without much effort."

Before writing this novel, Simmons researched moonshine operations in the United States and learned that stills are not just back woods outfits. In fact, most of these outfits" are well-organized operations led by people who are knowledgeable in the running of profitable businesses. Stills are almost as plentiful today as they were during prohibition. Bootleggers, a term used for people who make illegal whiskey, cheat the government out of millions and millions of tax dollars each years.

Nutgrass deals with a young mans concept that poverty is to be scorned and destroyed by any means possible, even if that means going outside of the law. In primary school, the protagonist, Jon Henri Tyler, learns how to make a fast buck in the boys bathroom before the first bell. At first, he cons his fellow classmates because he wants money to spend at the local Mom 'n Pop grocery store across the street from the school. Later, his con games helps him buy food and nice things for his family. Then came The Society" which leads him to fast cars, faster women, and revenge. Jon Henri cons his way into The Society", the largest moonshine operation in the foothills of North Carolina, to make money. For five years he hones his skills and relies on his wit and cunning to out drive, out maneuver, and out think every moonshine rival in Murdock County. Now he wants out, but learns, too late, just how deadly The Society" can be.