Return to Eastlake – More Small Town Tales, Part 3

 

Here’s one final look at the new novel! As I’ve said before, if you’ve ever lived in a small town, worked at a small school, sang in the church choir, or if you just long for the days when life was that simple, you should enjoy this latest collection of tales.

One of my personal favorite characters from the previous book is Ron Copeland. The high school principal who retires after a long career appears as the main character in three new stories and pops up briefly in a few others in Return to Eastlake.

Law and Order touches on the subject of school discipline and law enforcement, as Copeland deals with a parent who is determined to press charges and involve the local police in a school fight. He also wants the principal to pile on additional punishment as well. It’s a very contemporary problem these days. How much involvement should the police have with school issues? Read this one and see if you agree with Ron or the parent.

In Hammer Time, the stakes are even higher as a local judge insists on Copeland enrolling a student awaiting murder charges. Another favorite character, Amy Davis does her part to make the situation work despite the serious problems it creates. Copeland has to juggle the compassion for one troubled student against the safety of the entire campus.

Shots Fired brings back one of our favorite “villains” from At the Drive-In. Coach Evan Peters wants to “help out” with discipline as he seeks to earn his administrative certification. He quickly stirs up chaos with his aggressive and volatile nature, while Copeland seeks to find a way to reach a difficult and challenging student. If you’ve ever wondered why some kids hate school, here’s a short glimpse.

Finally, all the principals gather at the drive-in to discuss the Dress Code in this short tale about one of the most common frustrations faced by school administrators. See what school administrators really think about all these common trends!

Hopefully, readers will enjoy these small school tales. Perhaps they will remind you of your own school days and bring back some pleasant memories! As always, I encourage you to buy a copy and let me know what you think as you read.

Return to Eastlake – More Small Town Tales, Part 2

 

Not all of my stories are about schools. Return to Eastlake contains a number of tales that involve simply the normal, regular routine of small town life. Here are just a few of those.

The Returner features Ty Mills in a story about a young man leaving town to play college football, then returning to his hometown years later. The Author and the Critic is a tale about Amy Davis who now owns and operates a small used bookstore. This story tells of her encounter with an eccentric local author. The Perils of Pauline is about a young woman and a stalker. Finally, You Just Never Know provides an interesting tale about the owner of Sully’s Drive-In.

The book also includes three new stories about attending church in a small town. Behold the Lamb looks at the music program and the stress involved in producing an Easter musical with an unlikely star playing the lead role of Jesus. If you’ve ever sung in a church choir this one should provide a few laughs. Church Lite examines varying views on worship styles and church politics with an added dose of building projects as well. Lastly, Youth Retreat features a young Chris Manning leading a summer trip with his students, including a particularly challenging young lady.

And of course, we return to the unfinished tale of Krissy Holder. The most frequently asked questions from my previous book At the Drive-In are about the mystery of the missing carhop. Although it was originally intended to remain unsolved, the questions prompted me to write “the rest of the story.” Unsolved Mysteries picks up eleven years after her disappearance. The popular TV series has decided to come to Eastlake and feature the case. Julie Holder fears that reopening the old wounds will do more harm than good, especially to her mom. And finally, the Epilogue to the novel reveals the truth about what really happened to Krissy.

So, return with me to Eastlake and let me know what you think of these new small town tales!

Return to Eastlake – More Small Town Tales

Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to get serious about promoting the new book! So, for the next few weeks, I plan to spend some time providing some details about these new tales that hopefully will entice readers to want to hear “the rest of the story.” Let’s see if I can pique your interest!

To begin, allow me to briefly summarize the stories featuring one of my favorite characters, Cole Bradford. He, of course, is the character most closely intended to be autobiographical. A coach who becomes an assistant principal, and then eventually a principal, Bradford gets dropped into a variety of tales based on some real life adventures from my own professional career.

Now, remember these are fictional tales! Most of the events did happen, but often I’ve exaggerated the details, changed outcomes, combined and compressed timelines, and sometimes completely made stuff up! Anyway, in my latest book, Bradford appears as the main character in five brand new stories.

In Call of Duty, Bradford leaves the classroom and coaching behind as he assumes his first administrative position as the new assistant principal at Eastlake’s Intermediate School. His adjustment is complicated by the lack of availability and help from his boss and mentor. Working alongside another brand new administrator, he learns to handle his duties and responsibilities while encountering a major school scandal and the resulting fallout.

Testify finds Assistant Principal Bradford preparing to go to court for the first time in his career. Nervous and feeling unprepared, he seeks advice from fellow administrators. One of his students has been abused at home and the stepfather has accused Bradford to shift the blame from himself.

Where Have All the Heroes Gone finds Bradford doing his best to avoid school politics and ignore local gossip while interviewing candidates for his next assistant principal. Now in his second year as a campus principal, he is determined to hire the best people he can find to fill out his staff. The experience reminds him of several of his own past interviews as well.

In There is No Substitute, Bradford, now an experienced Principal with a solid staff, deals with the drama associated with finding good substitutes to cover for absent teachers. He soon finds himself in the middle of a personal conflict between two old friends which threatens to boil over into open warfare on his campus.

The Last Shot takes us back to Bradford’s days as a girls’ basketball coach. While playing out the final minutes of a close contest with a spot in the playoffs at stake, he recalls critical moments from seasons past that have brought him to this time and place.

If you’ve ever worked in the school system, you will likely identify with these all too common occurrences. And if you enjoyed Cole Bradford in At the Drive-In, you won’t want to miss his latest adventures in Eastlake!