Ugly to Start With punctuates the exuberant highs, bewildering midpoints, and painful lows of growing up, and affirms that adolescent dreams and desires are often fulfilled in surprising ways.
John Michael Cummings is the award-winning author of three novels and over one hundred short stories. His short stories have appeared in The Kenyon Review, The North American Review, The Iowa Review, and Alaska Quarterly Review. He lives in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where his family has lived for six generations.