Honie Briggs

I read somewhere that a good story invites us to slip into the shoes of other people. It’s true; a good story gives us a vantage point from which to observe heroes and villains revealing their human frailties. We experience their lowest lows and highest highs, understand why they stumble, get a feel for where they have been, and walk away knowing what we have in common. A good story also lets us try on fears best left to the imagination.

It was five days before Christmas. I was feeling anything but the holiday spirit. The sky was one gigantic bruise, and as I sat through a second light change waiting for the line of cars in front of me to get moving I wondered why the hell people can’t pay attention and just go when the light turns green. I wanted to get home before it started to rain, to kick off my shoes, curl up on the sofa, and just let the day come to an anti-climactic close.

I put away the groceries and took a look around at the impeccably tidy kitchen/dining/living room, noting the only advantage to having our house on the market is that I didn’t have to bother decorating for the holidays. It sounds selfish. Maybe it is. I just didn’t have it in me. I’m not feeling jolly. My self-inflicted to-do list for this crazy roller coaster of a year now complete, yes I’m too ambitious for my socks, all I want to do is veg out and wait for spring. Okay, that’s not entirely true. Books for next semester arrived fresh from Amazon on Monday and I want to read them from cover to cover before January 13th peruse them before classes begin. My idea of down time is twisted, I know.

Sure, I could have watched episodes of House Hunters all afternoon, but opted instead to download “No Time For Kings” written by fellow blogger and self-published author, Mark Petruska. I was intrigued right from the start and impressed by his skillfully executed delivery of several stories within a story. I enjoyed slipping into the shoes of the unsuspecting and the not-so-innocent, the purpose-driven and the accidental participants in this novel that offers believable characters and interesting themes laced with plenty of suspense building moments. The story is as entertaining as it is relevant. I finished reading it this morning and decided to share another post about friends I’ve made through this blog.

Mr. Petruska writes with humor and honesty. Self-professed foodie, recently married, all around cool guy, Mark is someone who likes a challenge. Through his blog, and now through his book, I have enjoyed getting to know him better. The guy can tell a story, and that’s worth sharing. Visit Mark’s blog and see for yourself.