The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.
The Boaz Stenographer, written in 2018, is my fourth novel. I'll post a chapter a day over the next few weeks.
Book Blurb
Walt Shepherd, a 35 year veteran of the White House’s stenographic team, is fired by President Andrew Kane for refusing to lie.
Walt returns to his hometown of Boaz, Alabama and renews his relationship with Regina Gillan, his high school sweetheart, who he had ditched right before graduation to marry the daughter of a prominent local businessman. Regina has recently moved back to Boaz after forty years in Chicago working at the Tribune. She is now editor of the Sand Mountain Reporter, a local newspaper.
Walt and Regina’s relationship transforms into a once in life love at the same time they are being immersed in a growing local and national divide between Democrats and traditional Republicans, and extremist Republicans (known as Kanites) who are becoming more dogmatic about the revolution that began during President Kanes campaign.
Walt accepts two part-time jobs. One as a stenography instructor at Snead State Community College in Boaz, and one as an itinerant stenographer with Rains & Associates out of Birmingham.
Walt later learns the owner of Rains & Associates is also one of five men who created the Constitution Foundation and is involved in a sinister plot to destroy President Kane, but is using an unorthodox method to achieve its objective. The Foundation is doing everything it can to prevent President Kane from being reelected in 2020, and is scheming to initiate a civil war that will hopefully restore allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.
While Walt is writing a book, The Coming Civil War, he is, unwittingly, gathering key information for the Constitution Foundation.
Will Walt discover a connection between the Foundation and the deaths of three U.S. Congressmen in time to save his relationship with Regina, prevent President Kane from being reelected as the defacto head of a Christian theocracy, and the eruption of a civil war that could destroy the Nation ?
Chapter 16
My first class at Snead State Community College was Monday night February the 11th, three days before Valentine’s day. Ever since Dean Naylor had contacted me shortly after I moved back to Boaz I couldn’t understand why Stella Gillman’s transfer to Wake Forest hadn’t been better planned. Why hadn’t she moved during the Christmas holidays? Why wait until nearly six weeks of the new semester had passed?
It didn’t take long for me to find out. I arrived an hour before class was to begin. I was straightening the twenty or so desks when Dean Naylor walked in. The classroom was almost directly across from his office.
“Good evening Walt”
“Hello, Dean Naylor.” I said walking over to shake his hand.
“I figured you for an early bird. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“Sure.” I said. He sat down in a student’s desk right in front of my over-sized oak desk and motioned for me to sit in my teacher’s chair.
“I thought I would give you a little more insight into your students. I know you’ve reviewed each of their work products from the files Stella left.”
“Before you go on would you mind answering a question?” I asked.
“Not at all. At least I’ll try.”
“Why didn’t Stella transfer during Christmas, at the end of a semester? I assume this would have been a better transition for both Snead and Wake Forest?”
“In a perfect world, you are correct. Stella’s job opportunity at a major college wasn’t the primary factor that precipitated her move. I think it was New Year’s Day, may have been either a day before or after, her father took a turn for the worse. I think I mentioned to you that he has terminal cancer. Stella hadn’t been back from her holiday visit a week when she received the call from her mother stating her father had contracted pneumonia and was in the hospital. Stella returned to Winston-Salem the next day. After she arrived and assessed the situation, she called me and said she would be back soon but could miss at least a week.”
“I’m jumping ahead, but how on earth did she snag the Wake Forest job?” I asked.
“I was just about to get to that.”
“Sorry.”
“No problem. It was a miracle of sorts. If you believe in miracles. Personally, I don’t but that’s another story. It seems the Dean of Wake Forest, Michele Gillespie, is a caring and compassionate woman. She volunteers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center on the weekends in their chaplaincy program. Ms. Gillespie dropped by Mr. Gillman’s hospital room. By the way, Stella has never married. At some point during the visit, Ms. Gillespie mentioned the college. When she was leaving, Stella’s mother stated that Stella was a stenographer professor.
I’ll let you figure out the rest.”
“That doesn’t seem to explain why Stella was still here teaching last Thursday.”
“Gosh, you’re right. I almost forgot why I came here.” Dean Naylor said opening the notebook he had brought with him.
“Please give this to Valentina Garza.” He said handing me an official-looking certificate. “She already has the large framed version. It was given to her at the ceremony held last week in the auditorium. I’m speaking of the Alabama Community College Stenographic Competition. Ms. Garza, your student, is the winner of this State-wide award. Stella stayed to coach Valentina through the competition.”
“That’s classic hallmark. Stella and Ms. Garza must have been especially close.” I said.
“Yes and no. It didn’t really matter if they had a close relationship or not. This exemplifies true Stella. But, they were in fact close. Last year, Valentina lost her best friend, a cousin, Esmeralda
Andres.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“I’m a little surprised you haven’t heard. Esmeralda was abducted and sold. Apparently, it was sex trafficking. A few days after she went missing, it was learned that she was in Stockholm, Sweden and had died in a tragic fall from a bridge. This devastated Valentina. Stella loved and counseled Valentina, enabling her to win the State stenography championship.” Naylor said.
“I can now make more sense of why Stella stayed. I’m sure it was tough on her to be away from her father. She must be a woman of deep character.”
“She is. We hated to lose her. Walt, you have some mighty big shoes to fill. I see we are running out of time. I wanted to talk with you about each of your students. They will be here shortly, most of them come early. But, in the few minutes we have left me tell you about Felicia Shea.”
“Okay.”
“She is Belinda Olinger’s granddaughter. Her step grandfather is
Frankie Olinger. Surely, you have heard of him. He and his twin brother
Freddie own Sand Mountain Tire and Muffler.”
“I know Frankie much better than I want to. He and I were at Boaz High School together. Did you say he had a twin brother? I don’t remember that.”
“I’ve heard Freddie failed a year, maybe eighth grade, so they were not in the same class.” Naylor said.
“Now, I remember. Strange that memory was so deep.”
“Quite frankly, pardon the partial pun, it wouldn’t be too bad if both twins were forgotten, but please don’t repeat me on that.”
“I won’t.”
“Back to Felicia. She is also a rising star. She came in third in the competition. She’s very bright, was the Valedictorian at Boaz High School, graduating, I believe, in 2014. She started here in the Fall of 2016. After high school, she spent a couple of years in mission’s work, traveling all over the country. Here’s the reason I wanted to talk with you. I’m afraid she is too devoted to Frankie. What I really mean is she is too devoted to his political philosophy.”
“What’s that, even though I think I know.” I said.
“One word, Kane. Enough said.”
“Another word I wished we could forget.” I added.
“Right. So, mix Christian Fundamentalism with Kanism and you can only imagine what you get. To her credit, Felicia seems extremely capable of compartmentalizing her life. But, Felicia needs a Stella in her life, if you know what I mean. Someone who will be brutally honest with her, while, at the same time, showing her genuine
compassion and understanding.”
“She must be doing something right to win third place and to be in her fourth stenography class.” I said.
“Like I said, she is extremely bright. I think you will see she is a natural. I believe the only reason she didn’t win the championship had something to do with Frankie. I’ve heard some rumors, but I’ll leave it to that.”
“Hello Dean Naylor.” Two students said almost simultaneously as they walked into the room.”
“Good evening Amanda and Michael.” Dean Naylor said standing up, shaking Michael’s hand and hugging Amanda.
“Walt, this is Michael Kendrick and Amanda Hartley, two students with brilliant futures.” Naylor turned back to me and said, “And this is Walt Shepherd, your new instructor. He too is brilliant.”
The two students smiled and shook my hand and said they were glad to meet me. I replied with a similar greeting.
“Now, I must go. Amanda and Michael, you are in good and competent hands. I believe you two and your other four classmates, have been gifted a once-in-life opportunity. Don’t squander it.” Dean Naylor said as he was backing up toward the door.
I waved my hand at him as though I was saying, ‘the BS is getting deep in here. Go.’
He nearly backed into four other students as they turned into the doorway from the hall.
The Pencil Driven Life 