Eua Claire, Wisconsin - Author Gene Fackler draws from his own life growing up in Texas Hill Country to shape his upcoming novel The Green Apple Tree, set for release on April 2, 2025. The book combines coming-of-age memories with unresolved tragedy, weaving a quiet story of childhood friendships shaped by a specific time and place.

Set across two timelines—1963 and 1986—the novel follows Thomas Kessler, a man looking back at one particular summer that changed the course of his life. In the early '60s, Thomas and his two close friends spent their days testing limits, absorbing the harsh wisdom of older men, and growing up in ways they didn’t fully understand. That summer ended with the disappearance of one of them, Bennett, and the shadow of two murders that went unsolved.

By 1986, Thomas is waiting at a bar to meet Pete, one of the original trio, now an attorney fixated on those same murders. As Thomas prepares to reveal what he’s long kept hidden, the story shifts between present reflection and past events. What emerges is a portrait of friendship strained by time, knowledge that came too soon, and the lasting imprint of adolescence.

Fackler’s writing reflects the textures of the region and its people, without sentimentality or embellishment. The stone houses, gas stations, and river crossings serve not just as settings but as anchors to memory and meaning. While the story is fictional, many events are grounded in real experiences. That authenticity comes from Fackler’s lifelong connection to the area and the community he grew up in.

Now retired from a long career in the airline industry, Fackler lives on a farm southeast of the Texas Hill Country. His deep roots in the region provide a steady background to the novel’s quiet exploration of memory, loyalty, and loss. Rather than focusing on large dramatic events, The Green Apple Tree finds its strength in the quiet turning points that define a life.

The novel’s layered timeline allows the characters to mature in the reader’s view, inviting reflection on how past choices and withheld truths shape the present. With its measured pace and personal tone, the book adds to the tradition of regional American storytelling that values detail, relationships, and the complexity of growing up.

The Green Apple Tree will be available in paperback on April 2, 2025. Readers interested in a reflective novel grounded in experience can find the book on Amazon.

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