Penny Pickle A hero of the AIDS crisis in Dallas writes her first book DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer taffet@dallasvoice.com A Shortage of Angels is set in 1986 in Onward, Texas, a fictional small town based on author Penny Pickle’s own hometown of Greenville, Texas.
It tells the story of Cal, who lives with her mortician granddaddy in their combination home/mortuary. Her best friend is socially challenged Moody.
And from birth, Cal was blessed with a special purpose: She can see angels who, she’s been warned, she should never call on for help.
One day, Cal and Moody are playing down at the Sabine river bottom, and, while hiding in the cypress roots, they overhear members of a motorcycle gang confess to murder.