The Meathead Symposium (83,000 word / college coming-of-age) Querying now!
A college freshman overcomes the hedonistic and nihilistic obstacles of campus life and finds solace after the death of his brother by competing in the sport of powerlifting and creating a group for brawny, yet philosophical meatheads.
Ian is a gym rat by day and an alcoholic by night. He thought college would offer an escape from the grief over the fentanyl induced death of his brother, but instead classes full of nihilistic ideas are dragging him into a sea of booze. After a violent brawl with a group of frat-guys, he separates from the campus drinking culture and joins a trio of meatheaded friends on their quest to compete in a powerlifting competition. But just as the powerlifting group gives him a new lease on life, the video of Ian’s drunken fist fight surfaces in the student life department and everything he is working to build is in jeopardy. To keep his friendships and goals alive, Ian will need to develop strength far beyond the knurly barbell.
Readers who enjoyed the gritty sports action in Don’t Skip Out on Me by Willy Vlautin; or the brotherly coming-of-age drama in Last Summer Boys by Bill Rivers, will love The Meathead Symposium.
Memory Foam (work in progress / speculative fiction).
A wormhole opens up on the sales floor of a mattress store, and recent college-dropout, Tommy, is the only one around to see it. Meanwhile, Gulf War veteran and NASA scientist, Richard, steals a mysterious machine from the NASA compound and goes on the run. Absurdity ensues as Tommy tries to investigate the galactic wonder on his own, and Richard tries to evade arrest. Their paths are destined to collide in a quantum way.
