How I was SUMMONED by a news article from long ago....

There is a story behind every story: behind every one that is true; behind every one that is fictional. One just has to decide how far back to go....

I'm the chubby one on the left.... Bab nestled with sisters.

I met Bab when we were little girls. Our mothers were friends in high school, and they did their best with writing letters and planning a family gathering once a year, usually in the summer. Bab and I ended up at the same out-of-state college; and after graduation, like our mothers, exchanged a letter now and then, a Christmas note, a birthday card. 

Retirement brought opportunities for travel and when in Arizona, Bab and I reconnected. She shared a story from long ago and suggested that I put it in a book. Not wanting to tackle another book, I shrugged off her suggestion. However, soon after returning home, the news articles from this past story were in my mailbox. I read them and was hooked.

The book, SUMMONED, is an anthology which includes the novelette, "Summoned" and six other short stories--most inspired by real-life events.

The Prologue to "Summoned" follows:

Prologue

The phrase hit and run fled in muted tones up and down the halls, lingered by the lockers and restrooms, and scuttled at the end of the day onto the buses on a cold winter day. As a senior in high school, I couldn’t stop thinking, what a horrible way to die--out on a country road, staring up at the stars, unable to move, and wondering how God could allow this to happen. Strangers found eighteen-year-old Michael lying along the side of County Road B 20. Whoever ran over him must have known him, or so everyone said. Otherwise, his arms wouldn’t have been crossed over his chest lying so neatly by the roadside.

 I run my fingertips over the rough edges of his grave stone and consider how his death and the secrets behind it continue to plague his family and friends.

Curiosity over Michael’s circumstances provided an atmosphere of confusion for months although we stopped talking about it. One spring day in the school library, I pulled the book, “What’s In a Name?” from a dusty shelf and found Michael. Derived from the Hebrew designation, it belonged to one of the seven archangels—the one closest to God and responsible for carrying out God’s judgments. The name means, Who is like God? –a rhetorical question implying no one is like God. This new knowledge only scattered my perceptions, or should I say, misperceptions.

At the time of Michael’s misfortune, I did not know that my own life would also end tragically and unresolved.

Click on amazon.com or barnes and noble link above to get a better look...
A book signing event which includes a book talk and books for sale will be held soon.