**Retired Vermont dairy farmer and author John S. Hall releases fourth novel, Harmony Hill: a warm, old-fashioned yarn**

Climb up on the hay wagon, gather the reins, cluck to the workhorses, and prepare to be transported to Vermont farm life on Harmony Hill in 1941. In the fictional town of Hayesville, Jubilant Brown strives to keep his family’s dairy farm from going under. While his father sits in his “drinking chair” riveted to the news of Europe where World War II is brewing, Jubal, his savvy ma, and his hardworking uncle with intellectual disabilities all pull together to keep the farm and the family afloat—no matter if it’s mowing hay in time to beat the rain, dealing with an ornery bull, or boosting milk production.

Meanwhile, love’s first stirrings emerge alongside the new green rows of corn as Jubal’s friendships mature and change concerning three spirited young women he’s known since a child. Maria is a farm girl who exhibits strength and ingenuity. His plucky next-door neighbor Polly dreams of the perfect marriage. Lizzy grew up wild on LaFlam Mountain with her unruly brothers under the thumb of her notorious outlaw father. Hayesville is full of small-town “characters” whose interwoven connections are brought to light when the town is rocked by a terrible tragedy. As Jazz Crow, who runs the town junkyard, says when he picks up The Hayesville Weekly, “Let’s see that paper. We’ll find out who got caught doing somethin’ I already know about.”

After Hall graduated from the University of Vermont and then worked for UVM as a youth extension agent, in 1965 he and his wife purchased and ran a Vermont dairy farm where they raised four children. Several decades later, many in the extended Hall family, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren, remain strongly engaged in various forms of Vermont agriculture. Throughout his long life, Hall has been deeply connected with the land and his community. Thus, he weaves in memorable details from his own experiences to illustrate his characters’ missteps, humorous moments, and kindnesses towards each other.

Harmony Hill invites readers into a heartwarming place where they will feel at home. The townsfolk of Hayesville, who are much like the neighbors we know and love, will make good company by the woodstove this winter.

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