Ben Aitken's non-fiction account, Marmalade Diaries, begins when 34 year old Ben rents a room from an 85 year old widow, Winnie Carter, in London, England. Ten days later England enters lockdown from Covid and Ben and Winnie are together far more than either planned. 

The Lowering Days by Gregory Brown takes on past conflicts with a contemporary narrative. After a paper mill is burned to the ground in the Penobscot Valley, the original land of the Penobscot tribe, a debate within the town ensues to resolve the mystery after a local reporter receives a letter with no name admitting to the crime. The mill had two meanings for two different types of people which Brown encaptures within the characters.