|
CALIFORNIA, 1945. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Rusk thinks he's seen the worst in human nature when he rescues a friend named Lionel from a beating inflicted by bigoted classmates. America is at war with Japan, and while Lionel is not Japanese, he has enough Native American blood in him to look that way, and that's enough.Upon graduation, Charlie and Lionel think things can only look up, but they're living in a time when the nation is fissured along boundaries of race, gender, age and whatever else people can come up with. They both take very different jobs on the giant Southern Pacific Railway, but are looked down on as "rookies" hired only to replace the experienced railroad men who went into the armed forces when war broke out. Neither one fits in anywhere he goes, but both have dreams they are determined to follow through come what may � both are chasing the Daylight. |
|
Over the Pass
The Dazzling Daylight
SLIM RAILS |
This novel will be published serially, the way Dickens published his. My reasons for doing so are twofold: first, because it seems neat that I can draw any comparison between myself and Dickens. Second, because the day I post each chapter, I'm a lucky fellow if I have the slightest idea what to write for next week! The third reason is: simple feedback. If you have the URL for this page, you probably came across it because we've met in some way, on the Net or in person or otherwise, and I value your opinion (good or bad). This novel is being posted for your enjoyment absolutely FREE (well, you do have to put up with that inane GeoCities advertising on the right-hand side . . . just delete it), so in return I'm hoping for some good, intelligent feedback on it. Is it a good read? Tell me so! A waste of your time? Tell me that, too (and hopefully why it's a waste of time, so maybe I can rectify that situation)! Have I botched a technical detail? ("Baldwin semi-cylindrical tenders did NOT have 352 rivets on the front end, they had 353.6...") Tell me that as well! And, of course, there's that final little reason: there's a chance one of you out there might be a high-ranking publishing executive who will read this novel and be seized by the unquenchable desire to pay me $250,000 (or better!) for it. Hey, a boy can dream. Just ask Charlie.
|
Before savoring my (*ahem*) brilliant writing, please read one or more of the following: The Official Lawyer-Avoiding Statement of Copyright What it Means to the Rest of Us
|
