Professor Andre Swartley anticipates publication of fourth novel
|by Abby Musser – Horizon Editor-in-Chief

André Swartley kept himself busy this summer. When he wasn’t caring for his new baby, Swartley, professor of English, spent a lot of time at Mojo’s Coffee Bar putting the finishing touches on his fourth novel, The Wretched Afterlife of Odetta Koop, coming out this Halloween. This highly anticipated and suspenseful follow-up to the award winning Leon Martin and the Fantasy Girl features a new protagonist, Odetta Koop, who as a young adult struggles because of her upbringing in a closed, authoritarian church.
According to Swartley this novel will explore numerous issues within organized religion, issues like “the role of marriage, sexual identity, overcoming abuse, and what awaits all of us after death.”
While this new book will be quite different from its predecessor, characters from Leon Martin will make appearances in the story. Readers who have not yet read the first book should have no trouble keeping up with Odetta Koop.
Students will get a sneak peak at Swartley’s work during his Oct. 2 forum, a pre-release party that will include a reading from the novel.

Andre Swartley, professor of English, won the Dante Rossetti award for young adult fiction in Urban Lit. He was nominated for an Eliot Rosewater Booklist and has been a finalist for 2006 Best Books of Indiana and the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book. For more information on his other books, visit his website.
I am trying to get copies of, “The Bible as a Story” that Marion Bontrager helped publish. He directed me to you.
I am the managing director here at Menno-Hof and would like to have some copies for our bookstore to sell? Can you help me or direct me to the correct source?
Thank you.
Susan,
You can contact the Hesston College Bookstore at phone number 620-327-8105. They can discuss small orders and give you the appropriate guidance in preparing larger orders. We are happy with your interest in “The Bible as Story”.