Book Review: The Ugly Duckling by Hank Cotton

A mini review, for a dear friend

One thing I enjoy about Substack is reading and sharing other people’s work, with thoughtful commentary, to help us connect grow. I’ve learned a lot by being here, reading widely, and finding talented writers and supportive readers; the least I can do is pay it forward and back! So, I try to promote a stackmate’s work every day, in Notes.

This stackmate promotion is the first I’ve shared as an Article. And it’s a special one because it’s for MJ Polk!

MJ, one of my first friends on Substack, is a copywriter, memoirist, and fiction writer from Georgia. We bonded over his daughter becoming a behavior technician in my field (Applied Behavior Analysis), non-religious spirituality, philosophy, and music.

MJ has been a source of positivity and support for my Substack adventures since day one. Case in point: He’s going to help me find my lowest hanging fruit to publication.

And, drumroll…

MJ recently published his debut novel, The Ugly Duckling, by Hank Cotton (pen name). It is available in paperback and soon-to-be-audiobook formats.

MJ, I hope this promo and mini-review helps you as much as your friendship has helped me. It’s a “thank you for being a friend” and a genuine expression of my enjoyment of your book.

Mild spoilers ahead, but they won’t ruin the reading experience!

100% human, flaws and all

In his debut novella, Hank Cotton, a no-nonsense Southern US commercial trucker with big love for his wife and a kind heart, found a teenage prostitute, Candy, in the camper he was hired to haul across state lines. He soon learns she’s a victim of trafficking and has been forced into drug addiction and prostitution.

After being chased by her pimp, surviving a close call, and awkwardly navigating detox symptoms, Hank’s wife discovers Candy’s real name is Jenny Deal, the missing daughter of Tim and Barbara Deal, state senators. The pressure is on to get her back home safely, without the pimp with the giant purse strings and ties to law enforcement intercepting them.

Boy, does Hank deliver! Candy’s character matures, Hank’s wife’s worries are palpable, and Hank is… well, I imagine him to be like many Southern gentleman I know.

Readers, please show MJ Polk some love. It’s a quick read that you won’t want to put down. You’re in for a treat!

The Ugly Duckling is available for purchase on MJ’s Website or Amazon.

---

Congratulations to Hank Cotton on his first book. Find another review of it by Harriet Corvine here!

By the way, MJ also runs “Stories from the Jukebox,” (SFTJ), where he and 12 of us writers offer music-inspired writing prompts. MJ does a lot of work to helps connect participants and cheer everyone on. We’d love for anyone reading this to us. Al you do is find hte week’s prompt, post something, and share it in the comments of the weekly post comments. Subscribe to SFTJ for writing prompts and weekly winners.

Thanks again, MJ, for being a good friend, relentless re-stacker, and for all you do for Stories From the Jukebox. Can’t wait for more from Hank and you!

Peace, love, and stimulus control,

Jennifer

P.S. I’ve been regretting making 3 separate publications and using notes for “short” original writing and promotions. It gives me too many choices, and I feel it’s hindering my writing and what I want to share. Plus, readers miss a lot of what I write and share! There are things like this — short little “I see you” or “thank yous” for stackmates that I put in notes, as I don’t know where else they fit. I don’t know how to fix these problems today, so I simply tried something new. Thanks for sticking through the variation.

If you’re a email-only reader, consider getting the app! You can see more of the work I do to promote others, get more of my poetry and shorts, etc., in Notes. And you can get posts pushed to the app instead of email. Wins! Either way, I appreciate you! 😊