Series: In the Absence of Shadows
Book I: Gone Away Into the Land
Book II: The Spiral Road

The series, In the Absence of Shadows, will explore the inner journey of John Greber, who suffered horribly at the hands of his father—an abusive, bitter man. At the end of Gone Away Into the Land, you experienced an unsettling sense that John managed to achieve reconciliation. He freed his mother, Ellie, and his six year old sister, Marny from the abusive madness that was invading their world every day of their lives.

Yet, you and other readers surmised from Gone Away Into the Land’s book cover that there is to be subsequent books. Although many of you commented on Gone Away Into the Land, saying it is a book that does fulfill a sense of closure, most of you asked when the second book will be released—a sure indication that there remains an uncertain feeling that the protagonists in the story have not finished their reign of terror and are lurking somewhere in the shadows . . . waiting to perpetrate evil once again. On that score, you are perfectly correct. Furthermore, John’s situation was purposely never definitively defined. Although, conclusions could be drawn, his disposition at the end of Gone Away left you with open-ended questions as to the state of his existence.

Book I is epic in nature, and it has been, and still is, being applauded for its larger than life scale with action packed scenes and adventures transcending the concept of time. Book II will take the adventure, and the inner journey of the main character, John, to a whole new level—one that will be unexpected. Some of the characters from Gone Away will be defined in more complex ways, and new characters will be introduced— characters you will love and some you will loath.

As with Gone Away Into the Land, the entire series, In the Absence of Shadows, is being written to adhere to the historical definitions of magical realism where the fantastic is, at times, perfectly believable and at other times strange and magical. In any case, the story continues its philosophical exploration of human culture and the complex relationship it shares with our humanity.

Please sign up on the contact page to be kept up to date on the expected release date for Book II in the series.

Excerpt from: The Spiral Road

Book II in the series

A moisture-less southeast wind was blowing a steady 20 knots or more off the sea that day—stiff breezes with an oily smell whipped the surf into a roaring monster. It carried with it a cutting fine that flew from the African deserts. Marny leaned into the wind, balancing herself as she walked along the beach. Her eyes were studying the tidal wash of different colored seaweeds that wrapped their crisp fingers through the tangle of stones and shells and empty things that were once some sort of living sea creatures. When she stepped over top the debris and heard the crunch beneath her feet she felt a wonderful rush of renewed belonging. Marny stopped and turned to face the wind that stung her face like needles to every pore. This was her private pain at its pleasantest. But it troubled her, the pain, the nagging sense of things amiss, out of alignment, and the reasons for it, out of reach, eluding her grasp. Marny, at times, was overcome with an unexplainable unrest, and an ever growing resentment she harbored toward her mother.