Unconscionable
ISBN-979-8-9855389-0-8
On the morning of October 9, 1983, twenty-three-year-old Johnny Lee Grier’s partially nude body was discovered in a vacant field by a couple of hunters. Mangled, disfigured and nearly decapitated, his body was riddled with over thirty deep stab wounds, burns, abrasions, and pieces of flesh ripped away from. Rumors suggest his horrific murder was a racially motivated retaliation for falling in love with a white woman. To make matters worse, those who committed the heinous crime were protected while others who wanted to come forward were forbidden from speaking to the police.
Thirty-four years later, those suspected of the murder are finally indicted, arrested and set to stand trial. Follow the journey of an aggrieved family’s long quest for the justice of their loved one. Based on a true story, Unconscionable revisits the common and frequent racism that once ran amok in the deep South, and usually with impunity.
The Storm Is Passing Over
ISBN-13-978-0999840665
For decades, The Floods have experienced untold happiness and prosperity. Flood Industries has become the largest privately-owned conglomerate in the world. Three generations later, the entire family has come home to the farm to celebrate Scooter and Frankie’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. But when the family’s stung by tragedy and begins to unravel, will Scooter be able to hold the family together and keep moving them forward while gradually ceding leadership to his beloved granddaughter and successor Celeste? The Storm Is Passing Over reminds us that while no one is immune to the storms that are sure to come to their lives, they eventually pass and leave us better and stronger for having endured them.
Running In Plain Sight And Other Stories
ISBN-13-978-1988367057
Running In Plain Sight And Other Stories is a compilation of four diverse and entertaining stories. The title story, “Running In Plain Sight”, chronicles the journey of Leander Sills Jr. At the age of ten, he was forced to flee after the brutal murder of his parents and his subsequent retaliation. Follow his travels as he tries to stay a step or two ahead of those seeking vengeance. “If All Minds Are Clear”, tells the story of Reverend Brantley Wilkerson II. A young, handsome and charismatic minister on the rise and newly engaged to the Pastor’s daughter. But a potential indiscretion lurks and could possibly threaten to derail his dream of being named Pastor of Grace Baptist Church. Will he reach his dream or fall from grace? “Home”, follows the story of P. Randall Spires. Born an albino, he can’t shake the pain of being disowned by his father at eighteen. Now forty-eight and a successful securities trader living in Seattle, he yearns to exorcise a haunting nightmare and reconnect with his family. Can he reconcile the present by healing his past? “A Balanced Imbalance”, begins with another failed suicide attempt by Zachary Price who is living with Bipolar Disorder and cycling from the highest heights of mania to the darkest depths of depression. With his quality of life non-existent and everything to live for, is he willing to give his doctor, his medication and therapy one last try, or will he end it all for good?
For Only A Season
ISBN-13-978-1626769960
As his flight lands, Pollux “ Scooter “ Flood IV ponders the meaning of the years spent away from his ancestral home in Greensboro, Alabama. His wife and unborn son’s death sent him into a tailspin that led him to interning on a client’s vineyards in Italy and California. On the surface, he’s returning home to establish a vineyard on his family’s farm, but in truth, he longs to reconnect with his roots and his beloved family. In the terminal, he expects his great Uncle Clem to be waiting to drive him home, but is instead met by someone he doesn’t initially recognize. When Frankie introduces herself, Scooter can scarcely believe that this confident, beautiful woman is the gawky, tomboyish teenager he once knew and is equally delighted to see that Greensboro and its friendly citizens have remained unchanged during his absence. As happy as Scooter is to be home, he still mourns his wife and son. Even immersed in work, he can’t let go of his wife’s ghost. His visions of her are so detailed, they seem real. When he shares this with Uncle Clem, he’s told his visions are indeed a reality. Like his grandfather, and his grandfather before him, Scooter possesses the ability to see and speak with the dead. It is this gift that has kept the Floods so connected to their ancestors and will aid Scooter in more ways than he can imagine, should he learn to use it properly. For Only A Season is a story about love and the long road back from loss. It’s a story about the weight of responsibility we carry from our ancestors, and the honor such weight can bring. It’s a story about the seasons of our mortal lives and our eternal journey as immortal spirits, destined to learn, grow and ultimately return to God.
Charles R. Butts Jr. 