Jake Brigham, a wildly successful first time author is drowning in the undertow of his newfound success. After years of “winning,” he realizes he has only lost–a beloved mother, a marriage, even his ability to create. Eventually, he leaves the demands of New York and returns to a place once close to his heart: Arnco, a dying Georgia mill village. He rebuilds his life, and his passion returns, for words, and for a childhood friend.
Allie Tanner, a widowed, single mother, has been fighting demons since the day she was born. Her entire life has been a struggle– with an alcoholic father, her own health problems, the death of her husband, and the constant worry that she may never be able to protect the one thing that means the most: her daughter Grace.
Jake ignites the spark of hope within her, and she within him. And each for very different reasons. When circumstances from their past collide with their present, will their hopes survive? Will tragedy cause a horrific breakdown or an inspirational destiny?
Targeted Age Group:: 18 and up
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Arnco is a real place that holds a lot of memories. I wrote it for my mother and grandmother, who’ve long passed.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I wanted my characters to be the type of people you root for. I thought about
the friends and family I love and admire and tried to incorporate some of their traits
into my characters.
Book Sample
A week after the tenth anniversary of Mom’s death and again I found myself staring out the window at the gloominess. Okay, so it’s just my reflection in the glass. It was a brilliant Sunday morning with an endless blue sky. The buildings, the Hudson. Everything in sight had a winter’s crispness to it. I wish I could enjoy the view, but I can’t get comfortable here, can’t concentrate. Can’t write. Even fifteen floors up, I felt the constant undercurrent of activity. The silent hum of a city that sometimes moves too fast for its own good, my own good.
Two ice cubes and two fingers of Macallan dive into a silver-rimmed, Madison Avenue whiskey glass and my pre-church routine is underway. Sarah thought it would be good for our marriage. Church, not the single malt. I’m not sure if either are good for our marriage. I’m not sure I’m good for our marriage.
If we time the two-block walk right, we’ll stroll into the Church of St. John just as the parishioners are bowing their heads for prayer. We will take our seats on an uncomfortable back row pew, and then during the final prayer, stand and exit just as quietly as we’d entered. In and out without having to talk to anyone. God’s eyes the only ones taking note of us. It’s not that we’re introverts, we’re just out of our element. It feels like trespassing. Prior to attending church here, I’d not set foot in a house of worship since Mom’s funeral. To say my faith wavered was an understatement, but that’s another story.
The pastor of the Church of St. John, Father Don, reminds us constantly that we’re all messed-up sinners, saved only by God’s grace. His words are meant for comfort, but they only serve to remind me of my numerous faults. I wondered what he’d think if he smelled my breath, in his church, in the Lord’s house. Would he pity me, consider me a project, or dismiss me outright? I’d wager a combination of the first two.
I finished my drink as Sarah sprinted down the spiral staircase, hands busily inserting the last earring. She hates being late, but loves the idea of being right on time. Adorned in a black turtleneck and gray slacks, she gives me a perfunctory smile as she grabs her coat off the rack. She’s a no-nonsense New Yorker who never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Besides me, anyways. She’s also sharp with the tongue when someone needs to be put in their place. Guilty as charged. But she’s genuine and honest, and has a smile that lights up a room, and I’m pretty sure I don’t deserve her. She also enjoys taking off her clothes around me. Or did. Before our problems started. My problems.
We met at a writer’s conference in Atlanta in 2007. She was scouting talent, looking for that undiscovered gem; I was there to put Parade of Echoes in the hands of as many editors as possible. I assumed she was just another aspiring author as I sauntered up next to her at the bar. She had the sexy librarian look going on, complete with wire-rimmed glasses and yellow number two through her hair bun. Four hefty manuscripts cradled in her left arm and three flash drives hung from her neck. When I saw her take a seat behind the Barnett Publishing table, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I wanted to pull that pencil out. As the evening wound down, I convinced her to have a nightcap with me. There was a manuscript to discuss, among other things.
Author Bio:
Ben Muse is the author of Break It, Eager Eaglets: Birds of Play, Killing Chase, and Arnco. A lifetime Georgia native, he was born in Atlanta and now calls Acworth home. He resides there with his wife, children’s book author Angela Muse, and their two children, Tyler and Caitlin.
He can’t paint, sing, sculpt, or play a musical instrument, so he’s decided to write. His hobbies include golf (terrible), traveling (hates to fly), obstacle racing (ugh!) and vacuuming (excels here) and he writes whenever he can: mornings between answering phones, in carpool waiting to pick up kids, and late at night when no one’s a stirrin. When he writes, one question is always on his mind: Is this book a good investment of the reader’s time? He’s just started on Giving Chase, the second book in the Better Off Dead series.
Links to Purchase Print Books
Link to Buy Arnco Print Edition at Amazon
Links to Purchase eBooks
Link To Buy Arnco On Amazon
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