By Accident
Slated for Publication in April 2010
By Accident will be available soon on amazon.com for pre-order.
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Synopsis
By Accident portrays a year in the life of a woman after the accidental death of her teenage son. Laura Lucas is numbed by the loss, a loss that is paralleled in the spate of upscale construction -- and attendant destruction -- in her starter-home neighborhood. It's about Laura's relationship with a transient young tree surgeon who may be her boy-child replacement, or who may be an object of desire; and her relationship with her husband, whose ambitions have outdistanced Laura's to the point of a secretive betrayal of what Laura loves best. The story debates where solace becomes sex, the role of men and women as unmarried friends, and examines grief in a marriage. It portrays the pain of change and the poignancy of acceptance through Laura's eyes, and occasionally, through the quirky outlook of her ten-year-old daughter, the surviving child. Before the story ends, another brutal, random accident will redefine Laura's life again.
By Accident is a novel concerned with randomness in relationships, in marriage, and in nature. The story poses tough questions: What constitutes betrayal between husband and wife? Can a savior be a lover? Are either ever justified? Even as By Accident portrays a woman’s loss, grief, and recovery, it examines how friendship can dangerously evolve into desire.