For our 20th episode and season finale, host and West End Branch Manager Ke Parks spoke with her dad, David Parks, who lived in the Lincoln Court Housing Project with his mother and seven siblings from the 1960s to early 1970s. During his short time in the neighborhood, he attended both Hays Elementary School, which was surrounded by Cutter, Clark, Mound, and West Court Streets; and Sixth District School on Elm Street in Over-The-Rhine. His family moved to Evanston in the early 1970s.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the West End Stories Project has shifted from a video series to a podcast, so interviews are being conducted over the phone. If you or someone you know lived or spent a significant amount of time in the West End, please consider sharing your story. Call 513-369-6900 or email westend@cincinnatilibrary.org for more information.

West End Stories Project, Season 02

West End Stories Project: Episode 20 - David Parks

In this episode of “Inside the Writer’s Head,” our Writer-in-Residence Jessica Strawser chats with D.M. Pulley about her experiences behind the scenes in Amazon Publishing, the historical real-life inspiration behind her suspenseful new release, and more. 

D.M. Pulley lives just outside of Cleveland with her family. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a professional engineer, rehabbing historic structures and conducting forensic investigations of building failures. It was a structural survey of a vacant building in Cleveland that inspired her debut novel, The Dead Key, which was the grand-prize winner of the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The book, a dark, haunting thriller, went on to be published by Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint and to date has a staggering 10,000+ reviews on the site (with a 4+ star average). She has since published three other stand-alone novels in a similar vein: The Buried Book, The Unclaimed Victim, and No One’s Home (debuting on September 1). Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @DMPulleyAuthor and on Instagram @d.m.pulley.

Inside the Writer's Head: Season 4, Episode 7: D.M. Pulley

Intended for aspiring writers, avid readers, and anyone in between, our monthly Inside the Writer's Head podcast features conversations on books, writing, and creativity from the people who know it best.

West End Stories Project: Episode 20 - David Parks

Cincinnati Library

Related tracks