I wrote two novels about service to others from different
perspectives. Service is so meaningful to me it's a theme I incorporate into my
novels. My third novel (in editing stage) will continue this principle.
I volunteer for two organizations and donate to Disabled American Veterans and Golden Retriever Rescue. To be able to help those in need, humans and animals, is a blessing. By serving others, we are serving ourselves. Whether it be through volunteering, teaching, or donating money to worthy causes we believe in, it's all good.
I volunteer for two organizations and donate to Disabled American Veterans and Golden Retriever Rescue. To be able to help those in need, humans and animals, is a blessing. By serving others, we are serving ourselves. Whether it be through volunteering, teaching, or donating money to worthy causes we believe in, it's all good.
"GOOD FORTUNE" is a novel about
secretly helping others without expecting thanks. Tong, a wise, aged
Chinese scholar helps anyone in need when they cross his path, and guides them
on a personal journey toward happiness and success. This is a lesson instilled in him by his Grandfather when Tong was a lad.
Page 86 Grandfather
instructs young Tong: "At least once in his lifetime, a man of conscience
finds himself in the position of being a teacher to one in need of guidance.
When faced with this duty, he is obliged to respond. Always remember, you are
intimately connected from the moment you realize you have met one who is in
need of a teacher and it is you who holds the knowledge they seek."
Tong
devotes his life to doing good deeds. As an old man, when Tong overhears a
stranger, Michael Hamilton, who has come to Good Fortune restaurant despondent
over losing his job. Michael sits at a table outside Tong's office. Hidden from view,
Tong listens to Michael's tale of woe and writes a guiding fortune that get
switched into a fortune cookie. This is the beginning of the clandestine
relationship with Tong as guide, and Michael his unknowing pupil.
"VANILLA GRASS features John Carrows, a
Vietnam Vet with PTSD who becomes a hero to the
town's at-risk youth by teaching them perspective, responsibility, and
important life lessons. In doing this, John begins the process of emotional
healing and is able to rejoin society. He eventually meets a strong,
independent woman named Colleen, and falls in love. The catalyst to all these
changes in John's life is twofold.
First,
John finds an abused one-eyed Golden Retriever puppy abandoned by his cabin,
and saves her life. He recognizes Sage is another wounded soul. They each need
each other and an immediate bond is formed.
Pgs 92-93, Outside
he saw a bundle of red fur curled up beside his house. “What do we have
here?” He squatted down and the bundle of fur sprouted four kicking legs. John
estimated the female Golden Retriever puppy was nine months old and weighed
only twenty-five pounds. She growled when he touched her and he quickly
withdrew his hand. Shaking his head with disgust, he got up and walked down the
path to the highway where he saw fresh skid marks and tire tracks in the dirt
and assumed they were from the vehicle that dumped her. “Damn people,” he
muttered, “dumping a puppy like she’s garbage . . . What should I call you? You’re still a pup, but you’ve been
through so much already you’re wise beyond your age. Poor baby, abused and
starving. Somehow you pulled through and survived despite everything. You kind
of remind me of myself."
Second,
when three teenage boys attempt to rob John at gunpoint, he is forced out of
hiding. Without planning to rejoin society, the years of self imposed isolation
are over.
Pg 46, John took another step closer
and Brent panicked. He reached behind, pulled his gun from his waist and
pointed it at John. With one swift movement, John knocked the gun from Brent’s
hand, got him in a headlock and held the wrist dagger aimed at his throat. Evan
was so anxious he tossed his gun on the ground while his bladder
released. John took another step closer and Brent panicked. He reached
behind, pulled his gun from his waist and pointed it at John. With one swift
movement, John knocked the gun from Brent’s hand, got him in a headlock and
held the wrist dagger aimed at his throat. Evan was so anxious he tossed his
gun on the ground while his bladder released.
“Don’t you boys know better than to pull a gun on a
psycho like me?” John shouted. He kicked Evan’s gun aside with his boot and
gave Brent’s neck a painful squeeze.
Pg 50, John took a breath and steeled himself before he walked into the police
station with a small duffel bag. He removed his dark glasses and approached the
front desk. “Can I speak to the deputy on duty?”
Pg 51“Have a
seat.” The sheriff indicated an empty chair and went around his desk. He
deposited his hefty frame into his chair and leaned back, placed a boot on top
of the desk and crossed his ankles. He folded his hands behind his neck and
grinned. “You surprised the hell out of me and not too many people can say
that.”
“I’ve been surprising myself lately.”
“So tell me, John, what brought you into town?”
“These.” John lifted the duffel bag and handed it
across the desk to the sheriff. “There are two loaded guns inside. I took them
away from a couple of punk kids.”
Both E-books are on sale this month for $2.99.
Visit Amazon to read free samples and if you like what you read, please
purchase and download! Thank you.
Leslie Bratspis,
Author
Visit my website: www.lesliebratspis.com
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