Wiegenstein again brilliantly plumbs the depths of human emotions. With his pitch-perfect sentences and compassionate insight, Weigenstein's memorable characters are achingly real as they grapple with their ordinary lives and peer into the uncertain future. Scattered Lights is one of the best collections of stories I've read in years. - Ann Weisgarber, The Glovemaker

Steve Wiegenstein, known to many Midwestern readers for the rigor and thoughtfulness of his historical novels, returns to his Ozarks roots in the twelve stories of Scattered Lights. He portrays ordinary, impoverished, small-town and country people in his polished, often elegant collection. Some are crazy; some are violent; some are no good. Mainly, these people are alive, and you'll recognize them. They live in those little towns, those scattered lights you see looking down from an airplane, and they're much like your grandmother, or your restless uncle who went off to see the world, or you. -- John Mort, Down Along the Piney