During the day when there is a break in the day's labor or in the evenings when the sunlight is waning, stories are told from Texas porches. Although these are usually short stories, they can belong, and thus continued at the next porch sitting. They contain humor, sadness, suspense, mystery, philosophy, and instruction about the human condition and, in general, the journey of living. The storytellers find the rhythm of life for themselves, and the listeners hear valuable lessons and truth. Tales from the Texas Timberlands, Volume 1 celebrates this storytelling about East Texans with five unique and descriptive short stories. They are tales to soak up and remember. J. Andrew Rice is also the author of the novel Seeds of Bliss.