NEXT STOP CHICAGO
Three friends are reunited through unlikely circumstances five years after their high school graduation in Jasper, Illinois.
A violent storm causes Jody Hansen to make some ill-fated decisions that land him in jail, accused of car theft, possession of an illegal firearm and assaulting a police officer who later died. Although he is innocent, Jody’s family lacks the funds to hire a seasoned criminal attorney, settling instead for one used to handling simple domestic cases. His opponent is a high-priced prosecuting attorney who relishes an easy conviction.
Anna Sanchez returns to Jasper, Illinois from her home in Chicago to help her father Miguel who suffered a stroke during the storm. When she learns Jody is also in town, she realizes the feelings she had for him in high school are still very much alive. Anna’s amorous feelings intensify when Jody informs her that he planned to begin a marketing internship in Chicago prior to his arrest.
When Jody sees how Anna has transformed herself into an attractive woman with the physique of a competitive runner, he can’t stop thinking about her.
Aaron Cole, who makes up the third member of the trio dubbed fuerzas especiales or special forces, returns to Jasper from his home in New York to come to the aid of his brother, who was arrested while protesting the George Floyd murder.
Jody’s legal predicament isn’t the only conflict in his life. When he learns it’s been his father’s dream to work as a fatther/son tandem at a local hardware store he now owns, Jody feels torn. Does he honor his father’s wishes or act on a desire to move to Chicago to be with Anna, the woman he now loves?
It will take a galvanized effort from all three, plus an overmatched lawyer’s determination to right a wrong for the group to have any chance at proving Jody’s innocence.
If he can secure his freedom, Jody must now choose between breaking his father’s heart or his own.
ADVERSITY’S EARLY LIGHT
A collection of short stories
Adversity can teach as well as torment. It forces us to become introspective. It tests the length and breadth of our will, our inventive spirit, and our drive to thrive. It is the clay that shapes character.
With the hope of illuminating a thoughtful way forward, here are nine short stories that offer a glimpse into the lives of diverse characters navigating their way through loss, health issues, heartache, separation, and much more. A father reunites with his estranged daughter with help from a running club whose members hail from India and the US.
A handicapped boy wishing for a silver tongue finds a more golden gift on Christmas day. An individual learns that his brother’s life, though fraught with complex issues, held redeemable value.
A young man fearing his maturation process is being stunted pushes toward the threshold of adulthood amid a key rite of passage. A married couple coping with the loss of their daughter find a way to rekindle the ardent love that marked their courtship.
A dystopian view of what life might look like in 2050. Are we headed toward such a world?
In this volume of short tales, individuals and families who must deal with tests of their strength of character find something rich – a light that translates into hope.
Chance Evers
Perry Ellis’s life looks like a complex jigsaw puzzle with pieces scattered about and no clear picture of how to return to the contentment he enjoyed early in life.
As Perry slips into despair following the death of his wife, he decides to take his own life. He quickly ends the suicide attempt, however, when he envisions how his brother, Clark, will react upon finding him.
Perry assumes an alias (Chance Evers) to reinvent himself and seek atonement for a recent transgression against the family construction business. The journey of atonement begins when he encounters a veteran adventurer with a history of uncovering sunken treasure from old shipwrecks in Florida.
The price of adventure is steep, prompting Perry to illicitly withdraw half of an emergency fund from the coffers of the family business. Clark’s discovery of yet another desperate choice by Perry sets the brothers on a collision course.
The moment of truth arrives with a meeting in Florida and allows Clark to become unburdened of a secret he vowed never to reveal. The revelation inspires the brothers to want to restore what was buried beneath a lifetime of lies.
Two for the seesaw
Doug Anderson has come a long way from the sequestered childhood that left him inventing friends and feeling clueless about the outside world.
Doug becomes an award-winning journalist in a small Midwestern town and marries Anna, who is named Teacher of the Year.
Although their future looks bright, haunting memories threaten to cause destruction. Anna is reluctant to discuss the details of the death of Shirley, her best friend from high school who also aspired to become a teacher.
Doug has yet to reveal the real reason he left coveted job at a University in Ohio. His obsession with ascending from the minor leagues of journalism to the majors puts a heavy burden on Anna.
A family crisis triggers a heated argument between Doug and his daughter, Annette. She knows about his secret emails to another woman.
The jolt forces Doug to see how far he has fallen. He vows to become a better husband and father, starting with advice from his son Danny who enters an essay contest about friends and family.
The essay, which includes Danny’s account of his friendship with a boy from a Muslim family, galvanizes the Andersons and forces family skeletons to surface.
