Chapter Illustration
Posted on April 7, 2012
The cute illustration
that bookmarks each chapter
was drawn by a local artist
named Ainsley Bonham.
Great job, Ainsley!
Click on image for a larger view
Fifth Chapter: Life At First Sight
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Posted on April 5, 2012
While Y-M-C-A by The Village People was playing at the main dance floor inside the Mardi Gras complex in Cranston, people were lined up outside, waiting to pile into the club. Noah and Scott were handed bottles of Heineken by the pretty, young ponytailed bartender as they stood watching the DJ spin records inside the mirrored booth. Scott resembled his brother, only with glasses, a slightly receding hairline, and an extra fifteen pounds from all the years of his wife’s good home cooking. Scott looked tailored, lawyer-like as a matter of fact, with a navy pinstriped suit, white shirt with gold cufflinks, and blue tie. Noah, on the other hand, was dressed more casually, wearing a blue sport shirt and tan pants.
“Thanks for coming,” Noah said as they stepped away from the bar. “The last time I came to a place like this, it didn’t go so well. At least this time I have good moral support and a shoulder to cry on,” he said, laughing.
“Anything to help, Little Brother, but I can’t stay too long, or I’ll turn into a pumpkin. I promised Sharon I’d be back by midnight. I figure if she can have Girls’ Night Out once a week, I can have Brothers’ Night Out once in a blue moon, right?”
“Sounds good to me,” Noah agreed, clanking his Heineken to his brother’s.
Cover Design
Posted on March 31, 2012
Sand Dollar’s cover was designed by Daniel Middleton from Scribe Freelance.
He did a great job with the fonts, colors, and overall design. I was very pleased with his formatting of the interior too, turning asterisks into little sand dollars!
Click on image for a larger view
Fourth Chapter: Life Before Robin
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Posted on March 29, 2012
“Rachel was a complainer,” I explain to Josh, continuing with the story, “always complaining about one thing or another. She complained that I was shallow and self-centered. She complained I never listened to her, especially when it came to having enough chutzpah to stand up to my parents. Let’s see, what else… Oh yeah, she complained I was materialistic and loved my boat more than I loved her. Maybe she was right — I don’t know. In any case, it didn’t matter anymore because my lawyer had called to tell me that my divorce from Rachel was now final, and I could start dating again. But finding the right woman was going to be quite the challenge. I needed to find someone that would love me for me and not for my money. And with Internet dating, finding the right match soon became a full time job.”
“So I started with the Jewish pile first, not because it was important to me, but because it was important to THEM — my parents.
“What was important to me?” I say, repeating Josh’s question. “That’s easy… LOVE.”
Third Chapter: Priorities
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Posted on March 22, 2012
“It was four years before that incident in Saint Barts with the sand dollar,” I tell Josh. “I had everything a man could possibly need — or so I thought. The year was 1992 and the place was Jamestown, Rhode Island…”
High on top of a hill rising up from a private, sandy beach sat a gray, shingled Nantucket-style house with six bedrooms, three balconies, and a large deck overlooking the mouth of Narragansett Bay. Scaffolding flanked the house on two sides. Thirty-five-year-old Noah stepped out onto the back deck wearing jogging shorts, a tank top, and running shoes, the sun just moments away from rising over the tranquil sea. He jogged down the numerous wooden steps leading to the beach below and along the vacant shoreline. Seagulls flew out of his way as small waves broke gently against an orange background.
The sun was shining as he made his way back to the house, running by a sand dollar sticking up in the sand, undetected.
Unicorn Writer’s Conference
Posted on March 16, 2012
I’ll be going to the Unicorn Writer’s Conference on April 28th.
It’s in a castle in Portland, Connecticut. I can’t wait to go! Here’s the link: http://www.unicornwritersconference.com/
Second Chapter: FRAGILE: Handle With Care
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Posted on March 16, 2012
Look at me. Not too shabby for an eighty-year-old man, huh? I’m feeling pretty good, although I can’t seem to remember how I got here or how this bandage ended up on my forehead. I hope I get out of here soon; I’d like to go home. After all, today’s our anniversary.
I lean closer to the mirror, turning my head to the side and touching the edge of the white medical tape holding the square gauze to my forehead. Let me just pull the tape up a little bit over here and see what this looks like. I hear a knock at the door. Better get back in bed.
I scurry out of the bathroom and run back to my hospital bed, jumping in with relative ease. There’s a second knock, this time louder. “Come on in,” I say, pulling the white cotton sheet up over my hospital gown.
First Chapter: Prologue
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Posted on March 16, 2012
Of all the guests congregated inside Touro Synagogue, no one was more delighted than Miriam Hartman, mother of the groom. She was sitting in the front row with tissues in hand, her husband to her right, the bride’s mother — a close friend — to her left. If only Noah had married a nice Jewish girl like Sarah all those years ago, Miriam thought, his life would have turned out perfect, just the way she had planned. Instead, his life was ruined by that shicksa Robin he had insisted on marrying against her wishes. She and Jerry tried to nip it in the bud before it was too late, but Noah was stubborn, some nonsense about butterflies and the way she looked at him. For the life of her, Miriam could not understand why Noah never listened to his mother, because after all, she only wanted what was best for him. And at this point in Noah’s middle-aged life, Miriam concluded, Sarah was best for him. With all the bad decisions he had made throughout his life, proposing to Sarah appeared to be the only redeeming one.
Relishing in subdued victory, there was no need for Miriam to ever take credit for the role she had played in getting the two of them together. For all Noah knew, running into Sarah at the premiere of Sand Dollar happened by chance, or perhaps even divine intervention — if you believe in that sort of thing. However, there was nothing divine about it — not that time anyway — because Miriam had secretly planted her there.
Book Cover
Posted on March 15, 2012
The paintings on the cover of Sand Dollar and this website are not actually paintings…
They’re pastel drawings!
And they were drawn by a wonderful artist in Oregon, named Deborah DeWit. Thanks Deb, for doing such a great job!
Her website is www.deborahdewit.com.
Click on images for a larger view.
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