Spanning from the Civil War to the near present, Cora and Martha and Other Stories follows Black protagonists from all walks of life—yard children, urban bootleggers, domestic servants, barbers, seminarians, teachers, soldiers, truck drivers, and even fairies in a fairy tale.

Set in a range of societies—homogeneous Black communities, racially segregated and interracial spaces, and racially indistinguishable worlds—these stories explore the universal struggle between good and evil. Through Reconstruction, life in “the projects,” church-centered neighborhoods, the American South, Vermont in the 1960s, Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, and into the new millennium, each character embarks on a journey to discover their quintessential humanity.

Thomas Penn Johnson was born on August 22nd, 1943, in Greensboro, North Carolina. In 1969, he worked as a caseworker for the Cook County Department of Public Aid - Children's Division. From 1974 - 1981, he resided in Valparaiso, Indiana. He holds an MA in English from UNC-G (1968) and an MA in history from Wake Forest University (1982).

He also did graduate studies in English literature at Syracuse University. In 1992, he published a collection of poems entitled If Rainbows Promise Not in Vain. In 2009, he retired from Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida, after serving for 26 years as an instructor of English and humanities. In 2024, he published a full-length play entitled AMIAS.