Rugged terrains of Australia and mental illness meld in edgy new novel

Clarkston author Paula Marie Coomer’s new novel, “Jagged Edge of the Sky,” was born from chance meetings with two complete strangers, a handsome Australian and a full-blown schizophrenic. The two bore an uncanny resemblance to each other and so began the weaving of a tale about connections of blood and circumstance set in the Australian outback. The story begins in a remote caravan park where Cherise feels compelled to leave her husband and children for a new life, a decision that sends ripples through dozens of souls that intersect in loss, love and longing over decades and continents.

“Jagged Edge of the Sky” is an edgy, interconnected tale told by nine women and seven men. At its roots it’s about “how we’re affected by what we don’t know about ourselves,” said Coomer, a retired university English instructor and former public health nurse.

“All of us have our stories about ourselves that we know and own and claim, and then there are the stories others would tell.”

The rugged landscape of Western Australia is a prominent character in the book as is the unrelenting terrain of mental illness and the poor condition of mental health care in the U.S.

Coomer will bring the characters to life at a free reading at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28 at the Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts & History in Lewiston. An after party will follow across the street at Blue Lantern Coffee House.

“The Jagged Edge of the Sky” is available in print and e-book editions. This is Coomer’s second novel. Her previous works include the novel “Dove Creek,” four books of literary prose and poetry and the food books “Blue Moon Vegetarian” and “Blue Moon Vegan.” She leads an annual writing retreat called Clearwater Writers on the Clearwater River.

If You Go Who: Clarkston author Paula Coomer presents “Jagged Edge of the Sky” When and Where: - 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts & History, Lewiston with an after party at the Blue Lantern Coffee House, Lewiston. - 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 7, And Books Too, Clarkston

(“Jagged Edge of the Sky,” by Paula Marie Coomer, Booktrope Editions, 204 pages, $13.95 print, $4.99 eBook)