To Do the Deal

Meet Kenneth Bodine. He’s living on the edge of the nation’s capital, but he’s not a power broker, oh no. He’s in commission sales. The last refuge of the dispossessed, or so his wife calls it. He’s a decent sort, much like you. Somewhat smart, occasionally funny. With a talent for numbers, but not for managing his own career. He’s just trying to figure out what he should be doing when there isn’t anything he really feels called to do. He’s on a hero’s journey, though he doesn’t know it. This is his quest: to preserve his essential decency against the need, sometimes, to cut a corner to do the deal.

In ten stories, one for each year from 1991 to 2000, we follow Kenneth Bodine on his uncharted path through assorted jobs. We also get to know his gently hectoring wife, Jodi; his two rambunctious girls, Bonnie and Betty; his parents Owen and Mary, who separately descend on his household for unsettling visits; and an assortment of loony bosses and eccentric colleagues.

To Do the Deal is for readers who like witty stories, well told. Each narrative is carefully plotted. An ensemble cast of deftly drawn characters crisscross the stage. The language is literary yet light. For these reasons, readers who like to put a checkmark in the margin next to a line that resonates will mark a lot of pages. Beyond the appeal of its writing, To Do the Deal will captivate anyone who has ever held a job, lived in a family, or been on either side of a sales transaction—it’s a good read for just about everyone. Check out excerpts on the Demitasse Press website.

Cathy Baker is a career writer whose publishing credits include a composition textbook for college students, a disaster planning manual, and a comic book about a couple dealing with their multiple addictions. She has written several science books for nonscientists and a variety of easy-to-read consumer materials. She lives in Maryland just outside Washington, D.C. This is her first work of fiction. A collection of short stories, Trios, is forthcoming.