It's out! My second novel: DOMINIC GRAVES
El Dorado County, California, 1969
Nineteen steps below their darkened room a battle raged.
So begins the story of Dominic and Theodore Graves - twin brothers who share a disturbing past. Nick, thoughtful and studious; Ted, playful and reckless. Before the night was over, their lives were forever changed.
Thirty years later, each has formed a life affected by that night in profoundly different ways. Ted, recovering from years of substance abuse and legal woes, is a commercial fisherman living in an isolated village outside of Veracruz, Mexico. Dominic, managing partner in an established San Francisco law firm, is being courted for a congressional bid.
Until one late moonless night on a beach. A moment of rage. And the two are brought together again, to confront their past.
The follow-up
In the late 90's, I wrote a mystery/suspense novel, titled Fatal Indemnity, which I recently published. It was such a pleasure to pull that book out of the electronic closet and breathe new life into that story.
So, this hub continues the story of the evolution of my writing. After I wrote Fatal Indemnity, I sent it off to several agents, one of whom took it and marketed it to publishing companies. There wasn't much for me to do at this point, and I had a million ideas for a second story in my head, so I went ahead and started.
I honestly don't know why this particular idea germinated in my brain, but I recall it was not long after I watched the movie, Sommersby . What intrigued me about that storyline, was the notion of one person completely sacrificing himself for the betterment of a community, through a devious act that served a higher purpose. It had a powerful message. A dozen other variables influenced my storyline, which involves two twin brothers, raised the same into their teen years, but then pulled apart after a profound tragedy that affects each of them in transformative ways.
Of course, I love to challenge a reader - to create plot twists that acknowledge their intelligence and creativity: the same kind of relationship I love to have with an author. My second novel, Dominic Graves , does exactly that.
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Motives and characters
I have an insatiable curiosity about human nature - why people do what they do. How they shape themselves from their circumstances, and whether they succumb to their demons or tackle them head on with courage and active volition.
I've lived with these characters since I first conceptualized the novel in 1999. I feel I know them both so well, it feels unusual to finally be revealing them to the world; to people beyond the very few who helped me with edits, gave their honest feedback and perspective, like Jim Keddy, Steve Cooper, and Lynn Vannucci, along with many others, including Jaye Denman.(aka Jayewisdom on Hubpages), who used her incredible talents to edit the entire manuscript again and made terrific edits. Thank you all so much for helping me with this project - I feel very blessed by your contributions.
Dominic Graves is a richly character-driven suspense novel about tragedy, survival, about the resilience of the human spirit. I feel good about giving it its birth, and am happy to say, "It's out!"
Happy reading - and thank you for your support.
~ Gerg
The back cover blurb for DOMINIC GRAVES
El Dorado County, California, 1969
Nineteen steps below their darkened room a battle raged. Before the night was over, the lives of twobrothers would be changed forever.
* * *
Thirty years later, prominent San Francisco attorney Dominic Graves sits in his office overlooking the Bay and scowls at a greeting card with primitive Mayan art on its cover. He flips it open. Below the printed words “Feliz cumpleaños” is a familiar scrawl:
“Happy birthday, brother. Love, Ted.”
He tosses it into the trash can and stares out the window at the bustling city. His hand trembles as he lifts a glassof scotch and takes another sip.
Two thousand miles away, Ted Graves strolls through the bountiful Veracruz marketplace. Around him, people crowd the roadside displays while festive guitar music fills the tropical air. He spots a man in a Pontiac watching him and, still clutching his bag of produce, darts through the marketplace to escape.
At the end of a street, he meets a dead end. Cornered and out of breath, Ted turns and faces his pursuer.
The past has returned.
