COMPLETED MANUSCRIPTS
I have written two novels now. Both are unpublished at this time.
My first novel is titled Option Four.
I wrote most of this novel from personal experience.
Taking William Shakespeare’s advice to “Give sorrow words,”
it started as a therapeutic way to resolve my feelings
toward my nephew by looking at things from his perspective.
My second novel, Focus, Jilly deals with how a teenager manages her ADHD, anxiety, and depression.
See the below synopses.
Focus, Jilly
ADHD, anxiety, and depression affects sixteen-year-old Jilly Hollenbeck in various ways – sleeping, schoolwork, social activities. But one person has been a constant in her life since she was little. When he’s suddenly gone, Jilly becomes overwhelmed with trying to solve what happened while struggling with her disorders.
If it weren’t for her two best friends – Veronica and Jeremy – Jilly would sleep all day, watch videos all night, and binge junk food stashed in her bedroom. In addition to her disorders, low self-esteem and body image issues weigh her down (no pun intended). Her friends and parents try to understand her, but only the small town’s convenience store owner, Mr. Rapoza, truly empathizes with the daily issues she struggles to overcome. He has become her mentor and friend, and been her surrogate therapist for years, giving her helpful hints and anecdotes to cope with her disorders.
When Mr. Rapoza is found in his store – shot and hanging onto life, Jilly feels compelled to find out who committed the crime because she knows he would do the same for her. With her best friends helping her piece together the puzzle, they slowly begin to reveal the facts. The more clues she uncovers, the closer she gets to discovering new truths about herself. But with little evidence to go on, she soon gives into her anxiety and depression. Can Jilly push forward to find Mr. Rapoza’s shooter, or will she opt to cover up what she’s found for new friendship and love?
Sixteen-year-old Eli Boyce is an athletic teenager struggling with growing up parentless. He has never known a father. His mother cannot take care of him. His mom’s sister and husband took him in when he was young, but he is sick of them riding him about everything. He condescendingly refers to them as “parents two and three.”
During his first year in high school, his tumultuous relationship with his “parents” includes arguments over grades, football, growing up, and ultimately his anger over having to live with them in the first place. While he knows kids that have dysfunctional homes and lives with a parent and stepparent,
he is the only one he knows that must live with his mom’s sister and husband.
When his relationship with a girl goes bad, Eli’s world begins to spiral downward, and eventually, tension with his aunt and uncle escalates. After a particularly nasty fight between the three of them, his uncle gives him three options – live under their rules, be homeless with his mom, or go to foster care. Eli ultimately decides on his own to go with a fourth option – living with a surrogate aunt and uncle in another state. He ultimately determines that Option Four was the best decision. While living with “parents four and five,” he is forced to come to terms with his life, the mistakes he has made, and the amends he must make
with his mom, his aunt, and his former girlfriend.