The next tease from my new book, "Into Each Life ..."

   Jamie's first class after home room was his favorite. Picture frames adorned the side walls of the room. Portraits of famous authors from the past - Jane Austin, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and F. Scott Fitzgerald - alternated with elementary school primers from the 1700s.
   Audrey Parker had been teaching English at Chapanoke High School for five years. She finally had her room set up just the way she liked it. Several treasured personal volumes, early editions she'd picked up at out-of-the-way bookstores in obscure locations, filled the top shelf of the bookcase that sat behind her desk. Prominently displayed in the center was a fine copy of Oliver Twist.

                                'Please, sir, I want some more.'

   Jamie walked in the classroom and sat at his desk.
   Jamie was Audrey's favorite student. He was a sweet kid with tons of potential, and although he was very smart something seemed to be holding him back. He did well on grammar and sentence structure exercises, but whenever an assignment called for the student to express himself through creative writing, Jamie froze up. He gave Miss Parker this excuse or that excuse for why the assignment wasn't completed, but she knew there was something deeper going on. She was not oblivious to Jamie's recurring absences, or the facial scars and bruises that always accompanied his return to school.

[Audrey Parker, Jamie's English teacher, and objective of Daniel O'Shea's affection, unbeknownst to her]

The next tease from my new book "Into Each Life ..."

   Daniel never got over the incident. His brother was his closest friend. They were both born and raised in Chapanoke, played football together at Chapanoke High, and worked the same shift at the food-processing plant after high school. Michael went on to college and a career in the school system, rising to the position of Vice Principal before his untimely death. Daniel was content to work at the plant for the rest of his life. He was satisfied with steady work and a steady paycheck. When the plant closed down a few years later, Daniel sank into a depression which he battled off and on from that point forward.
   Daniel's grief and anger with himself eventually turned toward God. "It's your fault!" he screamed as he shook a fist at heaven. "Why did you let this happen? My brother was a good man. And now he's dead and the bastard that killed him is walking around free somewhere. How can I believe you care?"
[Daniel O'Shea, friend to Crystal and a sort of father figure to Jamie. Daniel plays prominently into the story, especially later on.]

The next tease from my new book: "Into Each Life ..."

   Voices carried down the hall from the living room.
   "Randy, please settle down," Crystal pleaded.
   "Don't tell me what to do, dammit!"
   "Why are you so angry?"
   "Take it back!"
   "Take what back?"
   "You know damn well what!"
   "Take back that I love you? But I do love you, Randy. I do love you." Crystal believed deep down that Randy had the potential to be a good man. She believed in the power of love and the power of her words to change him.
   There was a loud crack, like bone on bone, followed by a thud.
[Randy McMillan, Jamie's abuser and the live-in boyfriend of Crystal]

The next tease from my new book: "Into Each Life ..."

She put a couple of the little white pills in her hand and popped them in her mouth. She'd perfected the art of swallowing pills without a drink. She laid back on her bed and while she waited to slip from reality into oblivion, she stared at the doll on her dresser. It was a child's doll, but she couldn’t let go of it. Even after she realized she wasn't going to have any more children, and that there was no point in saving it to pass on to a daughter, she continued to hang on to it.
[Crystal Myles, mother of Jamie (protagonist of the story)]

Into Each Life (a novel)

The first teaser (of many installments to come) from:

"Into Each Life ..."

Jamie's life was a nightmare of abuse. His only escapes from the horrors he experienced were the imaginary world he created in his mind and the wordless conversations he shared with his mother.

[Jamie Myles, the protagonist of the story, a 15 year-old boy]