A collection of novels, nonfiction books, short stories, and essays: some are complete works, others selected pieces of larger projects, while others are works in progress.

AN UNSUSTAINABLE LIFE – Currently being written

Issac’s a hard living Chicago ne’er-do-well who tends bar to stave off boredom. His parents died in a tragic airplane crash when Issac was ten, leaving him not only wealthy, but in the care of his Mom’s sister, Aunt Martha, who means well but has no idea how to raise a boy into a man. His Dad’s brother, Uncle Darwin, wanted to raise Issac but as a successful Silicon Valley engineer with tremendous obligations, the courts ruled against him. Issac’s mostly burned through his trust fund when he learns Uncle Darwin’s dead and he’s the only heir. Eager to reinfuse his carefree lifestyle, Issac makes a quick trip to New Mexico for a reading of the Will only to discover Darwin has other plans.

To claim his inheritance, Issac must live on Darwin’s wilderness ranch for at least a year. Through a series of journals, Darwin guides Issac through the struggles and challenges he must overcome and in the process, Issac learns what caused his uncle to walked away from a world ruled by technology. Slowly, Issac evolves and, in the process, realizes the tapestries of the gregarious world he’s leaving don’t have a place in the world he’s embracing, including his relationship with Gabriella. With the help of neighbors, Issac embarks on a journey of discovery. In the process, he learns to appreciate the history of his ranch and how it’s a microcosm of everything noble and evil about humanity. Now, if he can just figure out what Uncle Darwin wants him to do with all this newfound wisdom? READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS.

THE DANGLING CONVERSATION

Kyle and Isabelle have nothing in common other than the park bench they share. Kyle’s an older man trying to make sense of his on-again off-again relationship with Nadia spanning more than twenty years. Isabelle’s recent divorce from an emotionally abusive husband has left her damaged in ways she doesn’t fully realize. She’s falling in love with Henry, which brings forward latent fears and trepidations. Complicating matters is Diego, the aspiring Chef she walked out on back in college, is suddenly back in her orbit. Meanwhile, Kyle’s life is blowing up as the government makes him the fall guy for an FDA software glitch rendering food and drug safety suspect. If that weren’t enough, it increasingly seems that Nadia no longer loves him.

When Kyle and Isabelle talk, they seem to be having two separate conversations that eventually weave into one. The novel’s format is 100% dialogue, with each chapter written as a standalone short story that when taken as a whole, follows their journey through the challenging landscapes of life and love. READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS. Explore the story as a series of Poems.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE – A story told in three parts

All politics is local; something a gifted group of scientists keep having to relearn. These diverse intellectuals, capable of profound thought, action, and ability, realize something must be done to prop up the perilous pillars of democracy before the world descends into darkening dystopia, but each time they’re ready to launch their coup, they get pulled into a local crisis that must be resolved before they get back to the task at hand. The omni-present danger though, is as the Watchers inch closer toward discovery, the world won’t wait (dun duh duh dun)

Book One: WHAT IS TO BE DONE

In the aftermath of chaos following the release of a human engineered virus, a group of gifted scientists calling themselves the “Americans for a New America” (ANA), realize something must be done to safe the country from both its dysfunction and the oligarchs seizing control. In a perfect world, citizens could rely on government to solve their problems but in reality, government is the problem. So, the ANA devise an ingenious plan to correct the listing vessel of democracy – that is until fate intercedes in the form of Sympatico who’s escaping Miguel, a human trafficking sociopath. READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS.

Book Two: TROPHIC CASCADE – The Rise and Fall of Quiet Acquiescence

What if there’s more to love than not being able to bear the thought of being without someone, wanting nothing more than to see them happy, and never wanting to leave their side? What if this thing called love is not even romantic, is not a form of friendship, and is not what one feels for family? Is it even love, and if not, what is it? This is the question Jake and Sympatico must sort out, while their ANA cohorts set about to bring down a powerful human trafficking ring and allude capture by Alvarez – the government Watcher sent to hunt them down. READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS.

Book Three: RAINMAKERS of REVOLUTION

The country’s crumbling, with freedom and submission staked out on opposite sides of the same tarnished coin. Political pettiness couples with corruption and censorship to complement the feckless incompetence of leaders who lack the integrity to act in the nation’s best interest. Meanwhile, the single thread laid bare for anyone curious enough to notice, is the oligarchs in charge are stealthily proceeding with their plans for world dominance. So, it falls on a misfit crew of former federal scientists to become the rainmakers of revolution, the best hope for a faltering nation. READ SAMPLE CHAPTERS.

TRUTH AND TRUST IN CRISIS

An analysis of the COVID crisis from start to finish following real science. Mark Twain popularized the expression “there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” His point was that science can provide persuasive power bolstering arguments but if not properly critiqued and applied, can also be used nefariously, such as propping up political narratives during times of crisis. This book follows an engineer’s efforts to put the COVID crisis into comprehensible context using simple math and responsible logic. Each chapter explores aspects of the crisis examining how and why academia, medical professionals, federal agencies, and politicians disregarded truth for power and profit, decimating people’s trust in once esteemed professions and institutions. Each chapter was submitted to the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune as essays during COVID, only no one in establishment media had the curiosity or courage to allow honest opposition to accepted narratives to be published. The only way truth and trust can be restored is if we tell the real story about what happened. Read Sample Chapters

UNDERLYING CONDITIONS

While complying with COVID caused changes, a saleswoman with underlying conditions meets a furloughed Chef refusing to acquiesce to the new normal.

Sample Chapters
Coffee Kiosk - Random encounter at the home improvement center
Rendezvous - Marcos prepares a parking lot picnic
THE WORLD’S A SCARY PLACE

A nonfiction narrative of how capabilities and resources at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are used to keep America, and its citizens, safe from a constant barrage of malicious threats and vulnerabilities. Hardback release planned for Fall, 2022.

Outline – Thesis statements for each chapter in the book

Short Stories
Essays
Hyatt Place Paris - A Misadventure's Review - Bizarre experience at hotel
The Curious Case of Unaccounted for Corpses - Investigating discrepancies in CDC death data
How Truckers Killed COVID - A satirical look at the implications of the Canadian Trucker convoy
Emmett's Fix-it Shop: It's Time to Wake the Woke - Being "Green" is not necessarily green
Missile Crisis 2.0 - Hard to say Russia doesn't have a point
Supreme Court Math - What the math says about identity politics
Why Nations Wage War - What if world leaders started war and no on showed up?
What if the Cure is the Cause - Exploring an interesting hypothesis
Journey Away from the Politics of Science - From the illogical to the absurd
Please Opt Out of Inauguration Day - A father's open letter to his son
Another Nail In the Coffin of American Democracy - Compromised Election
In the Shadow of Mount Rushmore - Trump's visit of South Dakota
The Languishing Lack of Something to Look Forward To
Children of Thalidomide - Should we take the COVID cure
Birthday Memories - in the era of COVID
History's Most Consequential Prediction - that most never heard of
Opting Out - No longer consenting to follow my Governor
Mea Culpa of Grocery Day - Shopping during COVID
Old Otowi Bridge - Putting COVID into perspective
Critical Care Nurse - Chance encounter with a COVID nurse
Subconscious Gets Its Say - Forced to face the COVID Crisis
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