By Michael Embry

John Ross is retiring after many years working as a journalist. He contemplates about what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But along the way he finds out that there are some things you simply can't control. Life simply happens.

John learns that work has caused him to lose touch with the neighorhood where he has lived for many years. And he finds out that things weren't always as they seemed to be -- in many ways.

What They Are Saying About Old Ways and New Days

“As a long-time and seasoned journalist, Michael Embry always allowed the story to tell itself. Now, as a novelist, he allows the story to tell itself...and at a riveting pace.”

Steve Flairty, author of

Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes:

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Series and columnist for Ky.Forward

And Kentucky Monthly magazine

“In Old Ways and New Days Michael Embry masterfully shines a spotlight on retirement and the realities and traumas facing millions of baby boomers. And, like most things lit by the harsh, unfiltered beam of a spotlight, not everything is rosy; just ask John, Embry’s main character, as he traverses his first days out from under the world of work. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the realities facing retirees or who simply want to become immersed in a well-written, engaging novel.”

Bill Noel, author of

Folly Beach Mystery series

“If you are looking for lollipops and sunshine Old Days and New Days flat out ain’t it, friend. Michael Embry’s novel of a veteran newsman’s retirement years is not filled with slow days on the back porch or vacation cruises. Instead, it’s packed with violence and death, cancer and children gone wrong, lost dogs and lost lives. In other words, a hard, honest realistic portrait of life in America today, by a true craftsman of the written word. Read it if you dare!” 

Chris Helvey,

Editor of Trajectory Journal

Author of Whose Name I Did Not Know