Surviving The Fall (Sample Sunday)

SURVIVING THE FALL

Chapter I

DECEMBER 26

James Goodal jarred the oversized revolver from a dying man’s hand and then tossed the weapon across his living room. Even in the after-midnight darkness, he could see blood, soaking red the beige carpet near his feet. The man no longer stirred so James averted his gaze to the top of the staircase and to his surprise, he couldn’t see or hear her.

“Ashley,” he called.

No answer.

“ASHLEY!” he yelled as loud as his voice would allow.

Still no answer.

Fear held James in place; fear of what he would find if he ascended to the second floor of his home. He thought he heard a faint, weak whisper calling to him. A shiver went through him, and he knew he had to move.

He stepped over the body and charged up the stairs for the second floor, and after an instant, he found her a few feet from her bedroom.

“Oh god, Ashley, no!” The teenager had both of her hands clutching her left thigh a few inches below her crotch. Blood was seeping between her fingers. James knew that if the bullet had cut the main artery in the leg she could bleed out.

His mind was adrift in panic, searching for what he should do. Then it slammed into his brain. “I’ll call an ambulance.” He jogged for the phone next to his bed and quickly dialed 911.

“Ambulance!” he blurted when the operator asked for his emergency.

“My roommate was shot in the leg. It’s bleeding badly!”

While sprinting back to where Ashley lay, he pulled off his pajama top and placed it on Ashley’s leg.

“Apply pressure!” the operator said.

“I am!” He kneeled next to Ashley with one hand on his portable phone and the other holding the shirt to the wound.

“Is she breathing?”

“Yeah, she’s looking right at me.” The horror in Ashley’s eyes sunk into him and panged his heart. He had never in his life felt so worried for another human and so utterly useless to help.

“The ambulance is just a few minutes away, sir,” the operator said.

Then the operator began asking about how Ashley was shot, about the kind of firearm, and who fired it.

“Is the shooter still in the house, Mr. Goodal?”

“Yes, I think he’s dead.”

“Dead, sir?”

“Yes, I killed him.”

James set the phone aside and took Ashley’s hand in his. “It’s okay, Ashley. They’re coming. Just hold on, sweetie. Hold on.”

“I love—you—James,” Ashley said almost silently, and then her body wilted and her eyes rolled back and closed.

“ASHLEY, No!”

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"Surviving the Fall” is a homerun with emotional ups and downs that had me on the edge of seat. It was scary, lustful, and tender, as the plot pushed the ethical envelop of underage sexuality.

Okay, so what is the story about? It is the story of two lonely and needy people that find each other, find true love and compassion, in a perverse and evil world.

James Goodal, love the pun by the way, is a software programmer. His wife has left him, left him the house and a closet full of her cloths that she will never claim. James is lonely. He has a big heart and a lot of love to give. When James was a child he collected displaced animals and cared for them, nursed them back to health.

It was no surprise that when James saw Ashley Metcalf tossed from a moving car into the middle of the street that he had to help her.

Ashley is a complicated, oversexed fifteen-year old. Ashley has been a prostitute since her mother tricked her out when turned ten. So, it is no wonder that she is afraid to trust James and except his help. However, she gets into even more trouble that sends her to live in James’ guest house to the shock and disgust of James’ sister.

James and Ashley’s relationship is a rocky one. James is very frank with Ashley that she is underage; he only wants to help her get back on her feet. However, James sees Ashley as a sexual creature that has had more experience that he ever will. Meanwhile, Ashley can not except that he doesn’t want her. She sees how he looks at her. She wants to give him what she has; what every man she has ever known wants from her. For the first time in her life she wants to have sex with someone. The tension created between these two well written characters is the stuff of great literature. by Aaron M. Wilson Soullessmachine.com

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Surviving the Fall is a heart-warming tale of a wayward teenage prostitute and a gentleman with a rescuer complex. It's a great, intertwined plot where all the characters come together, in the same spirit of the Academy Award winning movie, Crash. Potter showcases his writing talent with skillful interspersing of critical backstory in such a way as to avoid slowing the plot. I urge you to take note of the writer's talent for character development and I'm sure you'll be impressed. In fact, I shouldn't think it'd be long before a major publishing house snaps Mr. Potter up because he belongs on the bookshelves with the likes of Jeffery Deaver and Peter Abrahams. Highly recommended by reviewer: Jan Evan Whitford, Allbooks Reviews.

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LIGHTING THE DARK SIDE the E-Book

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Bent, Not Broken. The opening novella is about an obsessive compulsive man who falls in love. Dee-Dee challenges Dwayne to experience life instead of hiding from it. Nevertheless, Dwayne’s disorder puts a severe strain on the relationship. Jealousy, low self-esteem, anxiety, and an increasing sense of violence engulf him until he pushes his new love away and falls into old habits of avoidance. Will he overcome this dilemma for love? Or will his problems continue to impede his happiness?

In the Gray. A seemingly mundane phone call between a grown son and his mother uncovers the reality of one man’s life. Michael Conner has estranged himself from his entire family. He has no time for his corrupt politician brother, his racist, abusive father, and his mother who seems to be more concerned with his marital status than the ugliness in her own home. Tragedy interrupts the call seconds before Michael can speak his truth and free his mind of decades of bitter animosity.

Prominent Couple Slain. Detective Jack Staal spent twelve years working in the Major Crime Section of the Vancouver Police Department. There he saw the worst of humanity, violent murders, gang warfare, sex crimes, and the ravages of illicit drugs. Homicide investigation was once his mission in life; now with his confidence damaged, he struggles each day to face the brutality. The story finds Staal only weeks after transferring to the Police Service of a small country town called Hanson, where a detective is more likely to investigate a canoe thief than a killer. When a former mayoral candidate and his wife are found DOA in an apparent murder-suicide, Staal is thrown back onto the homicide beat.

May 18, 2010. Is May 18, 2010 the end of the world? Trevor Woodward isn’t sure; he just wants to go home to his girlfriend, Kelly-Anne, and ignore the growing pandemonium over the approach of an earth-grazing comet called Ivan. Will the rock strike earth and destroy all life? Or is the entire thing a hoax to cover up an atomic bombing in the Persian Gulf? Experiencing increasing episodes of déjà-vu, Trevor begins to suspect that the eventful day is repeating; and with each pass, he gets another chance to repair mistakes with Kelly-Anne and his dying father.

Blessing or curse? Who wouldn’t enjoy winning the big one? Brad Stewart isn’t certain that becoming an instant millionaire is all he dreamed it to be. With the constant hounding by charities and long lost relatives, and the distance forming between him and his best friends, Brad is beginning to believe the windfall may be a curse. Without warning, a backyard barbeque becomes his worst nightmare when his son is abducted and held for ransom. Brad must reunite with his buddies in a frantic effort to rescue his kidnapped child.

Surviving the fall. Since childhood, James Goodal has had a soft spot for stray creatures. One gloomy afternoon, a lonely and depressed James meets Ashley, a young street girl. Impulsively, he offers her a spot on his couch for the night. Tempted by Ashley’s beauty and her willingness to please him, James struggles to live by his morals while questioning his motivations. Sickened by her life story, he can’t bring himself to send her away. But the comfort the two find in their unorthodox relationship is short-lived; shattered by violence as Ashley’s past catches up to her at Goodal’s home.

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