Book excerpt: It is said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. But do they really? Fortune's Yoke explores in depth the lives of characters coming from diverse backgrounds and stations in life. The common thread among them is that all lead lives set in motion toward a clearly carved-out destiny. Set in the dark and bloody ground of the Appalachian coalfields, the novel is a gritty, unapologetic examination of the human spirit, with all its frailties, imperfections, and magnificence. It is the mid-1970s and the coal market is booming. Life in the small coal town Whitehurst is vibrant. Prosperity and optimism reign. Coal trucks grind incessantly through the hills and mining jobs abound. Within this hum of activity, plans are made and schemes hatched. How does one react when life's road comes upon an unexpected fork? Bankers and hermits, tavern keepers and debutantes, lawyers and miners, good Samaritans and adulterers must all confront that dilemma and themselves. The results are various and surprising. The tumultuous story offers a thorough view of the rich life, culture, and politics of a rough-and-tumble part of the world in a time gone by, putting the reader in Whitehurst, with all its glory and infamy. The author imposes no value judgments. The tale is told, and readers are given the respect to make of it what they will.