Foster ...and other stories has been in and
out of the proverbial drawer for several years. Many times, I threatened to
leave it there, an artifact for my grandchildren to discover. The fact you are
reading this is due to the support and encouragement of several collaborators.
Billie Kelpin read
the opening chapters when they were new and very raw, offering nuanced and insightful
suggestions that colored everything to follow... Lee Milton and Don Brunelle
read later versions and provided much needed encouragement... Tom Campbell, a
go-to guy through several of my books, stepped up once again with valuable
feedback and support... I thought the work was finished until Cassandra Rendon
read the manuscript. Her in-depth review and excellent suggestions sent me into
a major rewrite… If Foster is a “good read,” I have all those trusted readers
to thank.
Officer Jon
DeLiema of the Huntington Beach Police Department served as my firearms
consultant, though he probably didn’t realize it at the time... Diana Huang created
the cover design and was a joy to work with. This is the third cover she’s done
for me, and this one required extreme patience… Billie Kelpin (yes, her again!)
shared her experience and expertise in formatting the edition you are reading.
I included seven
short stories in this volume, all published during the heart of the coronavirus
pandemic. They are here simply because they need a home on the shelf. There is
no assurance they will have brothers and sisters to fill out a volume of their
own. If you enjoyed just three of the seven, it means I batted .429. I’ll take
that any day.
Finally, a huge thanks to all you faithful readers. I hope you found yourself somewhere in these pages.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHL43MRH/ref=tsm_1_tp_tc
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