Lee Maynard will be back in West Virginia next weekend to promote the sequel to his latest work, Screaming with the Cannibals, which picks up where his controversial novel Crum leaves off. The book is being published by the West Virginia University Press.

Escaped from the confining, lifeless town of Crum, the protagonist retraces his roots to the backwoods holler of Black Hawk Ridge, West Virginia. However, when he reaches his destination, he discovers that his favorite Uncle Jesse, for whom he has embarked upon this pilgrimage, is the tragic victim of a moonshining accident.

Thus finding himself once more without a place where he belongs, the novel relates the eventful journey of young man searching for himself. Interspersed with anecdotes of his past the youth relates his adventures as he hitchhikes his way out of his native state and into the foreign territories of Kentucky and then South Carolina.

It is from the protagonists stay in rural Kentucky that Maynard derives his title. Across the Tug River from his home state, the narrator recollects the haunting tales of his youth. According to the rumors circulated amongst the citizens of Crum, those people of Kentucky are purported to consume their own children. Now, the protagonist finds himself amongst the savages in a holy-roller church, partaking in their flamboyant evangelical service and screaming with thecannibals.From there his journeys take him to South Carolina for a series of life-changing adventures.

Now residing in New Mexico, Maynard was asked during a recent visit to West Virginia if he was worried about more negative reaction from his native state when the new novel was released.

I have a responsibility to tell a story, and if it happens to be about where I grew up, so be it,Maynard said.I dont understand why people have lost their sense of humor and are so thin- skinned. After all, we came to this country to be independent, and all I was doing with Crum was telling a story about what I perceived it to be like to grow up in a small town in West Virginia. And this new book continues the story by exploring a theme common to many native West Virginians, leaving (but never forgetting) the state to find whatever it is we are looking for.

Maynard will be reading from and signing copies of Screaming with the Cannibals at the West Virginia Book Festival in Charleston Oct. 11-12.

For those who wont be able to attend the festival, copies may be purchased at bookstores or directly from the Press toll free at 1-866-WVU PRESS (988-7737). For more information and a complete listing of titles available from the West Virginia University Press, visit http://www.wvupress.com .