This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
STATE COLLEGE — Cynthia Simmons spent the early part of her career working as a reporter for small newspapers and radio stations. Now an instructor of media law in Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications, she has drawn on those early experiences to write her first novel, “Wrong Kind of Paper.”
The story is set in 1989, when local newspapers are starting to be gobbled up by conglomerates. Hallie Linden has just graduated from college with a journalism degree, and despite applying to over 100 newspapers, receives just one job offer: a low-paying position as a beat reporter for a small, underfunded paper in the tiny Indiana town of Green Meadow, where she is told repeatedly by the residents, “nothing ever happens.”
It soon becomes apparent that “nothing ever happens” is actually code for “nothing is reported,” thanks in part to a corrupt police department that mysteriously fails to file incident reports, and to the newspaper’s managing editor/publisher, who is reluctant to rock the boat.
Hallie is convinced that her only ticket out of Green Meadow and her dead-end job is to uncover a big story — one important enough to win the coveted Silverton Award and attract the attention of a paper like The New York Times. Her digging eventually leads to a more sinister discovery than she ever imagined, and she finds herself in grave danger as she scrambles to find a way to get the story published.
The book touches on many social issues, including racism, sexism, nepotism, corruption and “how people looking the other way allow it to continue,” Simmons noted.
Simmons believes addressing these themes in a work of fiction is important because, “That’s how we grow as a culture. We can’t talk about it one-on-one because we’re so divided. But we can talk about it through reading.”
Despite covering some heavy topics, “Wrong Kind of Paper” is a fun read. Hallie is sarcastic, funny and flawed, and her interactions with some of Green Meadow’s eccentric characters provide comic relief. A handsome Native American firefighter named Blue delivers the romance. There is plenty of action and suspense, described vividly enough that it is easy to envision the story coming to life on a television or movie screen.
Anyone who has worked in journalism will appreciate the light Simmons shines on the inner workings of a small newspaper, but the story will also resonate with anyone who has ever experienced small town life, anyone who has struggled to navigate office friendships and anyone who just enjoys a good crime or suspense story.
Simmons has also written plays and short stories and is co-author of “The Jury and Democracy: How Jury Deliberation Promotes Civic Engagement and Political Participation.” Simmons originally set out to write a novel set in New Mexico until “these characters started talking to me and wouldn’t stop,” she shared.
Those characters are starting to whisper to her again, she said, and she is toying with the idea of writing a sequel.
First though, she wants to focus on “Wrong Kind of Paper” for a bit longer. Although it was published by Sunbury Press under their Brown Posey Press imprint in 2021, personal challenges prevented Simmons from holding a launch party or doing much publicity for the book at the time. She has since embarked on a grassroots publicity campaign of sorts, visiting independent bookstores and speaking to book clubs, which she is happy to do either in person or via Zoom.
Simmons recommended purchasing “Wrong Kind of Paper” through local bookstores or directly from Sunbury Press at sunburypress.com. It is also available through retailers including Amazon, Walmart and Target, and can be read for free on Kindle Unlimited.
