The Anvil

By: Robert Alexander Swanson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

War is on the horizon of 1949, but in the small, near-coastal town of Hammer Springs, Florida, racial tensions are climbing. Best friends Sam and Jimmy are just trying to navigate their teenage years, but with their lives on hold as they wait to be drafted, they couldn't be more different.

Sam, with his sharp tongue and gangling frame, lives inside his own head while Jimmy, the beloved football hero, is dismissive of his own popularity and lives by his own noble agenda.

But when Sam falls for an unlikely girl in school, he awakens to the intense world around him. “Just for fun” becomes deeply serious, making Sam question himself, his town, his future, and his best friend.

As the town's character and conflicts come to light, Sam must choose between self-protection and love in this stormy first installment of the 4-part Hammer Springs series.