The novel, “Deckerville and Other Stories,” is a collection of short stories chronicling the lives of Deckerville’s residents.

Deckerville, a small, rural town in the thumb of Michigan, has a struggling agricultural industry because of its unique topography, Ohren said.

Ohren, who currently lives in Lansing, visited the area several times and found the flat, glacier-scraped land intriguing.

“The area, to me at the time, was very interesting and compelling,” he said.

Ohren said farmers in the area harvest sugar beets and onions, which make it hard to generate a steady income, and this struggle is one of many that he tackles in his latest book, which was released Feb. 1.

“The idea behind the stories is to develop and to show the dynamics of a small town by looking at each character as a facet of the town,” he said.

Many of the short stories were individually published in periodicals prior to this book, but Ohren wanted to put all them together in a cohesive collection.

The self-described Michigan author has lived in many areas of Michigan, such as East Lansing, Grand Rapids and Detroit, and Ohren’s previous books incorporate these personal experiences.

Joe Veneklase, a longtime friend of Ohren, said that Ohren’s ability to write about various regions of Michigan draws in local readers, with his previous books illustrating this diversity.

“From the urban world in ‘Motor City Blues’ to ‘Catch of the Day,’ when it comes to the beauty and lakes of Michigan, he writes about his experiences,” Veneklase said.

“Deckerville and Other Stories” strives to address the particular struggles that rural towns face in today’s economy, Ohren said.

One of the stories is about a man who loses his farm in bankruptcy and is forced to become the manager of video store. Another tells the story of a priest who struggles with his faith and wonders if he’s made a difference in his local community.

Fred van Hartesveldt, English professor at Grand Rapids Community College and longtime friend of Ohren, said the book deals with local hardships and universal struggles.

“It’s humanist work in that it deals with very tangible and real and current human concerns,” he said.

As a lawyer dealing with statewide real estate, Ohren revisited the Deckerville area and other similar communities and noticed a “Walmartization” of business.

“A Walmart might open up 50 miles away and suck the dollars out of local business,” he said.

Ohren said his firsthand experience with Michigan’s changing economy has influenced all of his work.

“I was exposed early on to the struggles in rural Michigan,” Ohren said. “It’s something that has stayed with me and has affected much of my work over the years.”