Title: These Are My People by Steve Fox
Publisher / Publication date: Cornerstone Press (December 16, 2025)
Language: English
Softcover: 228 pages
Genre: Literary fiction
ISBN/ASIN: 978-1-968148-17-1
Reviewed by: Cayce Osborne

A lot to connect with in These People

Steve Fox has a particular talent for exploring human connections, how actions both big and small affect a neighbor, a stranger, a loved one. His sharply rendered lives bleed into one another—sometimes gracefully, sometimes painfully, but always with a frank beauty that rings true.

You might read these stories separately, in bite-sized portions, but they also stitch together into a bigger, novel-worthy tapestry. All taking place in or around Fox’s town of Noisy Creek, Wisconsin, the featured characters move out of one vignette and into the next. The way they speak and interact, how they spend their days, and the environment they live in will feel very familiar to Wisconsinites.

After taking time to reflect on these stories, certain images and feelings have stuck with me. The deft use of repetition and rhythm to explore a man’s last moments in Rise, the opening story. A woman tenderly pouring a fresh glass of lemon water for a distressed stranger in Ronny—a small moment so carefully, mouth-wateringly rendered and then, in a heartbreaking twist, repeated in a later story. The description, in Rings, of two people walking down the sidewalk in winter, their plumes of breath like speech bubbles hanging over their heads. I could go on, but instead I will heartily recommend picking up a copy of These Are My People and exploring these tiny worlds for yourself. They will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

***

Reviewer Cayce Osborne is a writer and graphic designer from Madison, WI. She writes mystery and suspense about Midwestern women. Her work has been published in literary magazines, journals, and anthologies. Her debut novel, I Know What You Did was released in 2023 by Crooked Lane Books.