Bang Bang Tales: 3 Novellas

Set in the exclusive world of high-brow gun culture and shotgun shooting, Bang Bang Tales weaves an intricate story punctuated by poignant social overtones over three novellas, with characters and plotlines that carry over from one installment to the next. The Has Been is a tale of redemption, arrogance, infidelity and ultimately, bloody revenge set in the tony environs of the country club set. A local weekend, big-money shoot turns nasty when a “ringer” shows up, personalities clash, and ulterior motives come to light. The has been of this story is a former Olympic trap shooter who’s gone to seed, and his foil is the brash, egotistical upstart. If you’ve ever wondered how the high-society types keep themselves entertained, The Has Been gives a bird’s eye view. The Showman is the story of an old exhibition trick shooter who’s outlived his times and purpose, and the young man who upends his boring routine and drags him out onto the road for a big adventure. It’s the broad account of a live pigeon, box-bird shoot held at a private southern quail plantation and it’s the chronicle of a man of God desperate to repent for his past sins. It’s also the story of a self-made billionaire who seems to have everything but struggles with personal demons and the one terrible secret that can ruin him. The Ricochet tells the story of the decline of a great industrial empire, a family-owned gun and ammunition company passed down to the third generation where it teeters on the brink of failure. It’s a story of personal tragedy; of how a child’s brief lapse in judgement inexorably alters the fate of his powerful family and those who surround them. It follows the ruination of a rich and successful athlete who descends into an alcoholic nightmare of divorce and sudden impoverishment. Woven into the tale is what happened to a notorious Nazi after the war ended and how he lived out in the open among us until the close of the 20th century. It’s also the story of a seemingly incorruptible lawyer who compromised himself and the very clients he intended to shield. The Ricochet underscores how complete failure often follows on the heels of effortless success and how, but for the whimsy of time and circumstance, a carefree existence can inexplicably take a detour into the sinister. Ultimately, however, in The Ricochet as in life, all is not as it appears: People have a past and were not always as they reveal themselves to us now. Bang Bang Tales is a work of serious fiction--a powerful, thought-provoking, big novel that transcends the genre of outdoor writing. It is ambitious in scope and swings for the fences at every turn. It is an utterly original book and nothing like it has appeared before. Read more