The dynamic between fathers and sons is complex, most often least understood by the players themselves. But is it the father who does not know his son, or is it the son who does not know his father?
The discovery of a Father's Day card in a box---long ago shoved into a dark corner in a cellar---provides a revelation to a son, a gay son that shatters all previous conclusions about his father. Set in Denver, the ravages of a massive flood, and the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl, provide the background for a son's coming of age, and a father's eerie ability to "...read the hunch...," that is essential to his prowess as a cop.
Denver, 1981: To the residents of The Palisade, the brick wall behind
which their apartment complex lies protects more than the body. Behind
that wall, being gay doesn't equal being an oddity, an outsider, or a
threat.
A writer desperately tries to learn the truth of the boys' lives who have come to The Palisade to share their camaraderie, their love, and eventually their fears. The writer, too, delves into his own past in an attempt to get at the meaning of his own history.
In "The
Cow," the unusual death of a bovine leads to a reexamination of one
man's life on his ranch. The residents of Misty Creek, Colorado find
that their small town is about to undergo some drastic changes in
"Drogan's Things." And, in "Fixing Fences," one family discovers that
sometimes fixing something that's falling apart is exactly what's needed
to keep everyone together.
Literary, lyrical and packing an emotional wallop, the stories in this anthology will immerse the reader in the rich environment of Colorado farm country, the lives of its residents and the amazing imagination of author George Seaton.
Literary, lyrical and packing an emotional wallop, the stories in this anthology will immerse the reader in the rich environment of Colorado farm country, the lives of its residents and the amazing imagination of author George Seaton.
Although DADT was instituted in 1993, the unconscionable ban on gays/lesbians in the American military predates DADT and, in fact, reaches back to the American Revolution. This story, "The Loss of Innocence Store," provides a small window into one gay man's experience in the U.S. Army, circa 1972-1974. Discrimination against gays/lesbians serving in the American military did not begin with DADT. Hopefully it will end with the dissolution of this onerous, absurd policy.
The protagonist is made a man from a boy by his Army experience, returning to Denver with a sense of self that comforts as well as emboldens.
Diehl's return to Wyoming from six years of service to his
country---including combat in Iraq---is colored with a dark intent to
even the score with his father. But before he can once again embrace
that family, including Tony, a ranch hand with a military history of his
own, Diehl's single-minded purpose of revenge against his father
precipitates events that turn his life in a direction never envisioned.
His comfort through it all, is Jack, a Border Collie who Diehl rescues
from certain death; a dog who, perhaps, rescues Diehl from himself.
Present-day inheritors of Denver's old money, including twenty-four
year old Stephen Thaxton, find themselves inextricably entwined in an
imperative to close a hoary circle left open in the other world, the
other side where retribution is sought for wrongs committed by their
progenitors a century before; wrongs that eradicated wolves from
Colorado, and saw the indigenous Indian tribes of Colorado robbed of
their lands, all to enhance the wealth and privilege of those who now
find themselves the last of their family lines.
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Deaglan-ebook/dp/B004UVQPZE/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Big Diehl understood his nature, early-on. Raised as a cowkid on a ranch
in northeastern Colorado, Diehl yearned for something more, something
encompassing the truth of himself. He became a soldier. Served honorably
in Iraq. Found precious love along the way. Yearned to return to
Wyoming where his future awaited, where an unfinished reckoning
beckoned.
Note: This short story also contains a short teaser for the full length novel of the same name at the end. Also, this novella is included, in toto, in the novel, "Big Diehl - The Road Home."
Christmas is a holiday with family at the heart of the season. In this
short story from the author of CONTINUUM, THE COW AND OTHER COLORADO
STORIES and ANOTHER FINE CHRISTMAS, the young protagonist discovers that sometimes
discovering who you are is the best present, and that often the family
you choose can be stronger than the family into which you were born.
A gay man, looking back at the evolution of his relationship from the
onset of AIDS in the 1980's to the present, discovers that love and time
both have their own continuity.
Taking place in the West Highlands section of northwest Denver, the protagonist and his partner embark from their benignly haunted 1893 Victorian for another daily walk through the neighborhood. Along the way, the cement that holds then together is revealed, celebrated.
What do you do when your partner is gung-ho for Christmas and you don't
want to take part in the festivities? For the narrator, an escape into
his writing world would bring a welcome diversion from the music and
mistletoe of the season. A very unusual encounter in his dreams,
however, just might restore his love for the season and allow him to
view it with an entirely new perspective. A seasonal short story from
the author of CONTINUUM and THE COW AND OTHER COLORADO TALES.
Seems, though, as the dynamic of family usually goes, there is more than a wee bit of acidulous guile existing on both sides of the lovely clans to the extent that this Thanksgiving just might prove more interesting than Alice’s traipse through Wonderland.
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Family-ebook/dp/B009YYRIMQ/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354819810&sr=1-24&keywords=george+seaton
New Year's Eve isn't all champagne and confetti. For some, it's filled with regrets, the changing of the day dragging them kicking and screaming into a year for which they aren't prepared. This year, some people will be screaming, but they may not make it to the New Year at all.
Join 14 horror authors as they reveal the dark side of our end-of-year celebrations. This anthology of a holiday gone horrifyingly wrong contains stories by James S. Dorr, Richard Godwin, Nicky Peacock, John Stewart Wynne, Steve Shrott, Leah Givens, George Seaton, Kathryn Ohnaka, Jeremy K. Tyler, Betsy Miller, Byron Barton, Steve Bartholomew, Ali Maloney and Foxglove Lee.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ADXRZH0
"Stories from the Yampa Valley - The Cow, Fixing Fence"
Two short stories that I love, previously published by Untreed Reads. These are a general fiction read, with a western component. This area of Colorado fascinates me, as do the stories of the people and critters who call the Yampa Valley home. "The Cow" is one of my favorite stories, a tale of an old cow who dies with a simple dignity, the carcass pulled to the "bone yard" by the cowboy, Jack, whose family has owned the land for generations. What happens to Joe through the years, and the cow, too, remains to this day only speculation. "Fixing Fence," is the story of a young boy raised by his grandparents upon the family ranch. It is a story of family, for the most part, and also provides some insight into what it is that drives a man to assure, even after his death, that his fence-line remains taught and true.
Should one worry about their office workmates, and what might be churning behind those happy smiles, and what might really be in those pot luck concoctions? Why no. Of course not. Unless... Well, perhaps these wee glimpses into the office might, just might change your mind.
http://www.amazon.com/Vignettes-Office-Darkly-Told-ebook/dp/B00BE8T62K/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363891175&sr=1-17&keywords=george+seaton
.jpg)
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Skylar-Hand-ebook/dp/B00ANWCD1Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355497365&sr=1-1&keywords=Saving+Skylar+Hand
