Additional information
by John M. Mulhouse (Author)
A well-known novelist in free-fall returns to his former life only to play a role in its final, heart-rending destruction. What he does next throws his own survival into question and may decide the fates of near-strangers that he has quickly grown to care about. A disturbing episode in a crowded Waffle House pushes a faltering relationship past its breaking point. An elderly man pays yet another visit to the site of a tragedy that has colored his entire life. A Loss for Words & Other Stories collects 10 years' worth of such tales, often depicting the human side of decay and abandonment. A journal of the author's frequently harrowing experiences while performing vegetation surveys throughout the remote Cumberland Plateau region of eastern Tennessee is also included. In 2004, John Mulhouse started the City of Dust blog, dedicated to photo-documentation of the numerous derelict historic buildings and abandoned places along the Georgia-South Carolina border. Over time, occasional fictional (and not-so-fictional) pieces began to make their way onto City of Dust. The majority of these are contained in this anthology.
Author Biography
John Mulhouse was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received a MS degree in Botany from the University of Georgia and, while doing graduate work, developed an interest in photographing abandoned places and uncovering their history. In 2004, he began the City of Dust blog, which originally documented locations in Georgia and South Carolina, but quickly expanded in scope. In addition to Minnesota and Georgia, Mr. Mulhouse has lived in Tennessee and California, continuing his photography and exploration of decay and abandonment in both regions. He currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and City of Dust continues, now largely covering the ghost towns of the desert Southwest. Mr. Mulhouse has released A Loss for Words & Other Stories: Excerpts from 10 Years of City of Dust, which collects non-historical pieces, including fiction and journal entries, originally posted on City of Dust. He has also published two photo books, Cities of Dust: American Decay 2003-2010 and Ghost Trains: The Lost Railyard of Albuquerque, New Mexico, documenting the city's historic and long-derelict Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe locomotive repair complex.
