room 317 intro

room 317 is a finished, complete novel about a man who has lost everything that was ever important to him – his wife, kids, job, friends, everything.  he fell from being an admired teacher to an ostracized and unwanted embarrassment.  unfortunately, nobody but he knows his innocence, that he was the target of a vengeful plot formulated by a jealous and deceptive woman whom he unknowingly crossed.

unable to remain anywhere near his home because of the widespread coverage of his downfall, he boards a bus with two intentions:  first, to see as much of the country as possible on the way to the arizona desert, and two, to make that desert his final resting place by taking his own life.

however, his plan is disrupted when he meets a few interesting people aboard the westward bus.  there’s a young man with a short temper and a backpack that he guards closely.   there’s the young man’s companion, a girl, barely 19, who does not seem to be willingly taking part in the lucrative but dangerous direction in which her boyfriend is taking her.  last, there’s the single mother and child who represent the family that john lost but will probably never have again.

it would be easy for john to ignore these other characters and carry out his simple suicide plan that would close out the shame and misery that his life had become.  but how often can we say that the easy way is the best way out?

19 total chapters…