Careful
by Randy Anderson
BLURB:
For two decades
Tyler Gibbons has been keeping a secret from his family. At the tender age of
sixteen, Tyler embarks on a student exchange program. Sent to the Andean city
of Ambato, Ecuador, he finds daily adventure as he tries to fit in at school,
connect with his host family, and navigate through a world of beaches,
volcanoes, and jungles. But tucked deep inside this year are events so
profound, so unexpected, they forever shape the man he will become.
Now, 25 years
later, his mother pulls these soaring tales from her son, exposing, for the
first time, the source of a deep unhappiness. While these memories contain the
wounds of an unresolved past, they also possess the power to heal his painful
present.
Thoughtfully
crafted and boldly told, Tyler’s journey takes the reader on a wild South
American adventure, while illuminating a mother’s unyielding power to heal her
child.
Excerpt One:
The terminal was absolute
chaos. Luggage was brought in from the plane on carts, and people crowded
around them, pushing and shoving to get a look. Suitcases were tossed aside in
search of others and people were shouting. The decibel level became unbearable.
I managed to collect my bags
without having to push anyone and headed to Immigration, where men in uniforms
opened and rifled through all of my belongings. The officers would occasionally
ask me a question, but I didn’t understand what they were saying, so I just
smiled, nodded my head, and said sí. They could have been asking me if I had a
dead body in my luggage, and I’d have said yes.
When the invasive suitcase
search was complete, I walked to passport control. Reaching under my shirt, I
pulled out my money belt, unzipped it, and found my passport. I was trembling.
Both from the excitement of the moment and fear that I’d exposed my secret
hiding spot.
I handed the man my passport
and my visa paperwork. He quickly read over the documents and pulled out his
big stamp. This was the moment I’d been waiting for, the first stamp in my
passport. This stamp was going to be proof. Proof that I was here. Proof that I
was brave. Proof that I was.
Bam! His stamp came down
hard on a randomly selected page in the book. He closed my passport, slapped a
flat hand on top, and slid it toward me.
I grabbed it from the table
and quickly opened it up to admire my proof. The image was smeared and the ink
had bled onto the facing page, but it was legible. Not that I could read it,
because it was in Spanish. But it was legible. I held it open to dry as I
followed the line of people exiting the terminal.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Randy
Anderson is a novelist and playwright. His first book was published in 2011. On
Making Off recounted his adventures running The Beggars Group, a downtown
theater company that produced over two dozen productions at the turn of the
millennium. He is also the author of several plays including; Kill the
President, The Dwelling, and Yippie! Randy currently lives in Brooklyn where he
writes, reasons, and reacts. You can contact him at www.onmakingoff.com, or on twitter
@onmakingoff.
4 comments:
Thanks for the post! I'm really happy about sharing my launch with Angels with Attitude!
Your welcome ! Have a great day !
Your welcome ! Have a great day !
Sounds interesting
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
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