The Silent Fountain

Juan Miguel de la Montana lives a quiet life as a single man, spending his personal time reading, exercising, listening to music and drinking white wine. But his carefully-structured routine is interrupted when he learns of the death of an old college friend. He attends the funeral and planned to return home quickly. He didn't expect to encounter another college friend at the grave site, much less strike up a conversation and then meet him for dinner. He certainly didn't expect the man to invite him to a nearby ranch estate where he's vacationing with friends, much less accept the offer. Yet, once there, Juan Miguel begins to enjoy the company of the estate's owners, the Santiago family, and their colorful friends. But, just as he falls in love with his new friends and the ranch's bucolic surroundings, he's unprepared to fall in love with Esperanza, a Santiago relative. And, it doesn't seem to matter that she died sixty years ago.

Juan Miguel de la Montana lives a quiet life as a single man, spending his personal time reading, exercising, listening to music and drinking white wine. But his carefully-structured routine is interrupted when he learns of the death of an old college friend. He attends the funeral and planned to return home quickly. He didn't expect to encounter another college friend at the grave site, much less strike up a conversation and then meet him for dinner. He certainly didn't expect the man to invite him to a nearby ranch estate where he's vacationing with friends, much less accept the offer. Yet, once there, Juan Miguel feels pleasantly overwhelmed – and begins to enjoy the company of the estate's owners, the Santiago family, and their colorful friends. Black orchids, a blue-eyed cat, lilac perfume and a long-dormant water fountain slip into his subconscious and initially mean nothing to him. But, just as Juan Miguel falls in love with his new friends and the ranch's bucolic surroundings, he's unprepared to fall in love with Esperanza, a Santiago relative. And, it doesn't seem to matter that she died sixty years ago.

J.L.A. De La Garza is a Texas native who can trace his ancestry in the state to the 1580s. An avid reader and writer, he maintains his own blog, "Chief Writing Wolf," and honed his craft through decades of trial and error and slaving over hot pencils, typewriters, and keyboards. Describing himself as a "strange little man creating strange stories," this is his first published novel.