Captain Mullet and the Compass Rose

"I set out to tell Captain Henry’s coming-of-age story. I’ve always believed that inside each of us is an angry, old man waiting his turn to speak out in defiance of progress and change. And this story is about such a man - an old sea captain-turned-drawbridge-tender who has come into his own - and who is alone in the world, by choice. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that the world he fought wars for has gone to hell in a hand-basket. After a life of service, he embarks on a quest for perspective, to figure out who is to blame for his perpetual misery. I’ve never been a fan of vast exposition. But I allowed the characters to “live” a little in this story – to allow their plot to unfold over time – in a more real way – through their casual conversation and the daily challenges they encounter over the course of a year – a year in which perspectives change for all. Unintentional connections appeared, symbolism and metaphor cropped up unexpectedly, and the characters each dealt with their own antagonist and their own inner conflicts, and the seaside beach town became a character in its own rite. Captain Mullet and Compass Rose is a story about characters determined to create their own plot one moment at a time, and my hope is that the reader will finish the book knowing the characters more deeply, find them endearing, perhaps miss them, and want to read it all over again. The book bridges a cultural gap between the “greatest generation” and a generation essentially raised by reality television, video games, and the Internet. There’s a deep rift between young and old, much wisdom to be gained in seeking a better understanding of each other, and breaking through the barriers that separate generations. The crux of the social disconnect is that both young and old – in general – feel increasingly irrelevant in the world. The characters in this story live out that conflict and more, to prove that nothing is irrelevant."