my novels
Lost in the Water: An Ocean City Tragedy, a novel published in 2018.
As Dominic's head came to the surface, Susan realized almost immediately that he was in trouble. His head bobbed on the water for only a few seconds and then it disappeared beneath the waves. He resurfaced briefly and before his head disappeared the second time, he frantically called out to Susan for help. She could tell by his voice that he was panicking.
Susan immediately responded, swimming the short distance to where Dominic had gone under the water. She was prepared to grab him when he resurfaced and then help him get back to the boat. Susan had received lifeguard training as a teenager and she was confident that she could rescue him. However, his head did not come back to the surface. As Susan began to survey the surrounding water to determine where he might be, she suddenly heard a thumping sound on the bottom of the boat. Oh, my God, she thought to herself desperately. He's under the boat!
Ursula's Shadow, a novel published in 2015.
Ursula did not fall asleep quickly. As she lay awake in bed, she felt unhappy and perplexed. She was bitterly disappointed that her Friday night had not gone according to plan. She obviously had had a mistaken impression of him. She had never imagined that he would have stood her up like this after promising to meet her. Perhaps he had found a more interesting woman than she in the interim. This same scenario seemed to occur to her so many times. She wondered what might be wrong with her. Were all men jerks? Ursula cried briefly and then she effectively put the incident behind her. She would try again next Friday, probably going to a different lounge where nobody would know her and she could start again from the beginning. She had to believe that there was a man somewhere who would ultimately love her and want to share his life with her. In the meantime, she realized that she would be spending yet another weekend alone.
Hans Becker's Family, a novel published in 2010.
As the maid walked to the center of the room, she noticed that everything in the room was organized and in its proper place. At first glance, the bed appeared to be very neat and the maid expected to find that it had already been made. However, she quickly realized that this was not the situation, as a young man was lying in it beneath the sheet and the bedspread with his head resting comfortably on a pillow. His hair was smooth and in place. As the maid approached him more closely, a very uneasy feeling came over her, and she got a very tight knot in the pit of her stomach. Her immediate impulse was to rush from the room and call the housekeeping manager, but the man was young, probably not yet twenty. She felt almost a mother's concern for him. Against her better judgment, the maid reached out to him and touched the small area of his bare shoulder that was not covered by the sheet. The maid's suspicion was confirmed. The shoulder was cold. The man was dead.
Hans Becker's Family, a new edition of this novel was published as an ebook in 2021. It contains two additional chapters and a different ending than the original novel.
As a child, I used to draw pictures of houses or outdoor scenes using only paper and a graphite pencil. Sometimes the drawing went well and the result was a beautiful picture. Other times, I would make some mistakes and as I tried to camouflage these errors with perhaps unnecessary trees or flowers, the picture would become unbalanced. I would then attempt to balance it by drawing other unnecessary objects on the page. Then another object was required and then another and another. Finally, I would have to accept the fact that the picture was hopelessly ruined. it would have to be discarded into the trash so that I could begin again on another sheet of clean paper.
As you know, Hans, life is not like that. You cannot ruin your life and then restart it again with no encumbrances from the past. Life gives us only one opportunity to draw our picture and we have to be able to accept our various mistakes and shortcomings that occur during the working process. If we fail to correct our mistakes properly but instead compound them foolishly, we court disaster and we bring destruction upon ourselves. Again, I give you myself. Is there a more perfect example?
As a child, I used to draw pictures of houses or outdoor scenes using only paper and a graphite pencil. Sometimes the drawing went well and the result was a beautiful picture. Other times, I would make some mistakes and as I tried to camouflage these errors with perhaps unnecessary trees or flowers, the picture would become unbalanced. I would then attempt to balance it by drawing other unnecessary objects on the page. Then another object was required and then another and another. Finally, I would have to accept the fact that the picture was hopelessly ruined. it would have to be discarded into the trash so that I could begin again on another sheet of clean paper.
As you know, Hans, life is not like that. You cannot ruin your life and then restart it again with no encumbrances from the past. Life gives us only one opportunity to draw our picture and we have to be able to accept our various mistakes and shortcomings that occur during the working process. If we fail to correct our mistakes properly but instead compound them foolishly, we court disaster and we bring destruction upon ourselves. Again, I give you myself. Is there a more perfect example?