I have a number of novels in smaller series or stand-alone.
OPERATION LOTUS SUNDAY
Are they tourists, or are they smugglers and spies? Roger and Sandra Brownwell, American expatriates on an around-the-world vacation with their two preschool children, are scheduled for two weeks across China. It’s 1983, only two years after China opened to tourism. They are looking forward to the tour, a once in a lifetime opportunity neither dreamed of even a year before: the Great Wall, the Stone Forest, the terracotta soldiers, and the giant pandas await them. But in Hong Kong a missionary friend talks them into smuggling Chinese Bibles and delivering them in Beijing. So they add that to their already sizable amount of luggage and crammed itinerary. And in Guangzhou they talk to the wrong Chinese man, and in so doing send him away from where the CIA was going to extract him. When confronted by the CIA, they feel they must agree to go to extraordinary lengths to help save the man. Operation Lotus Sunday follows the Brownwells through China as they try to right the wrong they unwittingly did, and save a young man’s life while not ripping apart their marriage that was already under strain—traveling with rambunctious children and under the scrutiny of the Chinese government. From Guangzhou to Guilin to Kunming to the Stone Forest to Chengdu to Xian to Beijing, Operation Lotus Sunday provides plenty of danger, temptation, sights, and intimate possibilities. From the book: “Hey, you’re in a Communist country. . . You need to play this part now just as much as I do. You think I want this? I was traveling with a gorgeous woman and had great sex with her every day we worked together. Now I’m traveling with Bible-thumping Mommy.” Available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle format. Available from Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and other places as an e-book.
IN FRONT OF FIFTY THOUSAND SCREAMING PEOPLE
Ronny Thompson just wants to play baseball. He’s good at it, and can pitch the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in over a century. So why are all these Mafia-like events swirling around in his life? How does he extricate himself from them? And how does he concentrate on winning baseball games, rather than on his estranged relationship with his parents, his girlfriend, an aggressive reporter, and so much his Kansas farm upbringing didn’t prepare him for? In Front Of Fifty Thousand Screaming People is Ronny Thompson’s story, of his first two major league seasons. While he adjusts to the big city, two Mafia Dons have a major bet in place, and Ronny Thompson is the key to who wins and who loses. One Don seeks to protect him from the interferences of the other. Despite this Mafia crossfire, Ronny excels, the Cubs play above their abilities, and the whole nation takes an interest in the outcome of the season.
HEADSHOTS
This is the sequel to In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People. Ronny Thompson continues in his baseball career, despite the problems from the prior season. He has further adjustments to make, and challenges. On the ball field, he doesn’t have the kind of success as he did the prior season, though he still does well. In his personal life, he tries to find ways of having a very private life and keep it hidden from the public, while at the same time living a very public life as a major leaguer. At the same time the Mafia Dons who were for and against him last season are now out to get the woman that he loves, and he feels a need to protect her. It all comes to a head in the way you would expect it to when the Mafia is involved.
Available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and other outlets.
THE GUTTER CHRONICLES, Vol 1
For several years I’ve written a humorous series at work, which I called The Gutter Chronicles: The Continuing Saga of Norman D Gutter, Engineer. I began this at least ten years ago, wrote a few “episodes,” and distributed them to a select few who I knew would give it wide dissemination in the company. They are all moved on now, but I decided to restart the series. When I got to fifteen episodes, I decided to pull them together as a novella and publish them. Here are links at Amazon and Smashwords. It is also available in print from Amazon.
THE GUTTER CHRONICLES, Vol 2
Norman D. Gutter continues with I.C.E. Engineering into his second year and, once again, has a mixed bag of humorous and amorous adventures. He finds himself attracted to several different women, but in reality has essentially no relationship with any of them. He plugs on in his career, still encountering contractors, attorneys, other engineers, and support people who make his life interesting. It is a time of practical jokes, which he gets carried away with. Here are links at Amazon and Smashwords. It is also available in print from Amazon.