Charleston, SC, June 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Palmetto Publishing has released A Time For Every Season, a new historical fiction novel by debut author Paul David Combs. The book follows four decades of life in the hollows of Eastern Kentucky, where kinship, survival, and the Civil War reshape the lives of interconnected mountain families.
Set along the banks of Troublesome Creek in Breathitt County, the novel centers on Shadrach “Rebel Shade” Combs, the second son of the county’s first judge. Beginning in the winter of 1849, the story traces Rebel Shade’s childhood on a rolling farm thirteen miles from the county seat of Jackson, where life is governed by hard labor, fierce loyalty, and the rhythms of Appalachian survival. He is bolder and more reckless than his brothers, Henderson and Jeremiah, a young man whose spirit races ahead of every warning.
When the Civil War reaches the mountains, it does not arrive as a distant conflict between armies. It arrives at the doorstep. The Combs, Noble, Allen, and Landrum families, bound together by marriage, land, and generations of shared survival, find themselves on opposing sides. Neighbors become enemies. Brothers become strangers. For Rebel Shade, the cost of loyalty is measured not in battles won or lost but in bonds that shatter and scars that never fully heal.
Paul David Combs stated, “My research revealed that only a handful of historical fiction novels have woven together the emotions, physical challenges, lifestyles, and demanding environment that the people who lived in Eastern Kentucky experienced during this period. I wanted to bring those human stories beneath the surface to life, starting with my own great-grandfather.”
Combs is a retired international educator who spent forty years serving as a teacher, principal, and head of school across seven countries. That professional discipline and commitment to research now fuels his work as a historical fiction author. A Time For Every Season is rooted in years of genealogical and historical research into his own family’s past. The novel will appeal to readers of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and David Joy’s Appalachian narratives, as well as anyone drawn to deeply researched family sagas where place, kinship, and the trauma of war drive the story.
A Time For Every Season is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
About the Author: Paul David Combs is a retired international educator who dedicated forty years to serving as a Teacher, Principal, and Head of School across seven countries. His extensive career in education cultivated a deep commitment to research, storytelling, and bringing history to life for diverse audiences. That professional discipline now fuels his work as a historical fiction author, beginning with A Time For Every Season.
Combs’s passion for history runs far deeper than events and dates. Drawn to the human stories beneath the surface, he spent years researching his own great-grandfather, Rebel Shade Combs, and the families who helped settle Breathitt County, Kentucky. His research revealed that only a handful of historical fiction novels have woven together the emotions, physical challenges, lifestyles, and demanding environment experienced by the people of Eastern Kentucky during the period of 1850 to 1891. Determined to fill that gap, Combs set out to craft a novel that would honor these resilient mountain communities with the authenticity and dramatic depth they deserve.
Combs’ lifelong love of education continues to shape his storytelling, as he strives to entertain readers while illuminating a chapter of American life that too often goes untold. Follow Paul David Combs for updates on new releases.
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Available for interviews: Author, Paul David Combs