Wilting at Gin Mills (PB) (2021)

Social media's wilting civility spills dangerously into local bars.

As temperatures rise during an unusually hot summer in the town of Mancheville, Pennsylvania, debates become heated and citizens find themselves more divided than ever. When social media arguments enter real life and are fueled by alcohol in Mancheville's three drinking establishments, circumstances become even more strained.

George-a bar regular-often finds himself the confidante and counselor of the others due to his sensible demeanor. He's dealing with personal issues of being a widower and feeling like age is catching up with him quickly. Uncharacteristically, he becomes involved with the social media discord. He finds himself in a potentially life-threatening situation when the bitterness comes to a bizarre climax at Hank's-Mancheville's favorite tavern.

Several Mancheville residents are forced to confront how they've created personas and self-images shaped by manipulative social media and shallow societal expectations. They start to see how it's negatively affecting their relationships and contributing to a declining sense of rationality in the community.

Wilting at Gin Mills takes a sobering look at the increasingly negative online realm where people are still forming ideas of what normal is, developing codes of conduct, and discovering just how poisonous some of our behaviors have become.