Galveston: A Novel
(a working title; currently in revision)
Wick Peters is the sixth generation of a wealthy and powerful Galveston family, but he has always rebelled against his family’s decadence and elitism. To his family’s chagrin, he joins the army as an enlisted man, and his fiancé Rachel – also from a prominent family – eventually dumps him. On his fourth tour in Afghanistan, he’s the sole survivor of an IED explosion, and he returns to Galveston suffering from severe PTSD. He decides that living a quiet, withdrawn life is the only way to deal with his condition. Following a lifelong interest in antiques instilled by his grandmother, who raised him, Wick opens “The Junk Shop” in The Strand, Galveston’s historical district.
He becomes close friends with Bub Ehrentraut, an old curmudgeon who owns the legendary military surplus store next door. When Bub dies in a late-night accident, the event triggers Wick’s PTSD and he goes berserk. The young female ER doctor, Lydia Del Rio, recognizes Wick’s condition and calms him, but when she leaves him alone for a minute, he bolts. Later, he apologizes and wins her over by inviting her to his shop to show her a love seat identical to one in her grandmother’s home in Venezuela. Lydia is an ambitious professor and despite her protestations that she has no time, they become involved.
Meanwhile, the man who buys Bub’s store, Aldrich Oz, is Wick’s polar opposite: a pretentious, self-promoting elitist. He and Wick form an instant, mutual dislike for each other. As time goes by, Wick feels there is something strange about Oz – he seems to have no past. He’s even more disturbed when naive Rachel and Oz become a couple. Lydia fears that Wick’s growing obsession with Oz is a result of his PTSD, but unfolding events cause her to reconsider. What if Oz – who seems hellbent on causing Wick grief – really is evil?
The Reenactors
In first draft; it started out as a short story and evolved into a novella. I’ll need some good luck to get this unpopular length published.
Karen and Bradley are a young couple who probably got married for the wrong reasons. He wanted a standard, conventional wife but got a sarcastic, troubled adventuress; she wanted security, but woke up next to a boring, unimaginative drudge. Nevertheless, Bradley is happy as long as life remains routine, and Karen wants to make the marriage work. They each pursue their separate hobbies: Karen is determined to master Blackjack, playing online simulations and learning the intricacies of card-counting, while Bradley reads endless accounts of the American civil war.
Problems arise when Karen gets Bradley off the couch and engaged in the world of civil war reenactments, and she moves from computer simulations to the real world of casino gambling. Both experience exhilaration and success beyond anything they expected: Bradley comes under the influence of a charismatic man, an attorney, who yearns for a past that never was, and Karen hits it big at the casino – so big she decides to turn professional.
Bradley is horrified, and under the tutelage of his new mentor, he does something drastic, but legal, to bring Karen into line. The problem is, Karen is tough, devious and determined, and she won’t stand for it.
And a few short stories…
And a few short stories…
Social Engineering
(Short story; rejected 2-3 times – not sure why, unless it’s boring)
Mike is a respected senior engineer in a major avionics firm, but when he’s laid off in a company downsizing, his reaction is not what you’d expect. We find out why, and how the mysterious Mr. Ho fits into the picture, in this tale of cynical white collar crime. Just remember, it’s better to be lucky than smart.
The Babysitter
(pretty dark and hints at sexual abuse; the revenge is shocking)
“The Babysitter” is a dark story of awakening and revenge. Fourteen-year-old Amy gets a surprise call to babysit for the Caulfields, a wealthy Houston couple, but Mr. Caulfield shows a disturbing interest in her. While babysitting, Amy gets an even more surprising phone call from her father, sent to prison years earlier, when she was a toddler. Now he’s out, and Amy is shocked to discover that Mr. Caulfield’s incompetence as a lawyer got her father a longer than expected prison term. Then Caulfield managed to make the situation even worse. When Amy and her dad are reunited, they concoct a plan for revenge that will bring a suitable judgment on Mr. Charlie Caulfield.