Over the years while walking my dog, I’ve frequently passed a man on Banyan always walking with his dog. Because we are dog lovers, we got in the habit of chatting. As a result, I learned that he’s a retired attorney who spends half the year in Colorado where he indulges in what he describes as his two greatest passions, fly-fishing and writing.
Writing? What was that all about? “Oh,” he replied, “I’m the rejection king. I got almost 500 rejections from agents and publishers before I finally got my first novel published, and now my publisher is about to publish my second, that is if I get off my derriere and finish its rewrite.”
His first novel? I was curious. “What’s its title?” “The Furax Connection,” he replied. What’s a ‘furax?’ I asked.
“Gotta read the book, Jer,” he replied as he tugged at Willow’s leash continuing their ascent up the hill. I was intrigued. I went on Amazon.
“The Furax Connection”: 13 reviews, 12 five-star, and one four-star. And then I began to read them. The book looked military which was of some interest. Also, there were those reviews by women who lauded it. Military and women, an unusual mix. Maybe it was more than military.
Some days later Steve handed me an autographed copy of his book. The endorsements by two retired generals were positive; and on his website (StephenLKanne.com) the review by Alan Caruba, a charter member of the National Book Critics Circle, impressed me.
Yet I wasn’t about to waste my time reading some obscure novel unless I knew that Steve’s writing appealed to me. On the back cover I noticed the following: “Steve wrote one of three winning short stories in the 2006 Stanford Fiction Contest (his short story, “My Auntie’s Wedding,” is available online at the Stanford Magazine site).” And so I decided to test the waters: I read “Auntie’s Wedding.”
Took me about 10 minutes, and I’m still shocked and reeling. I knew I had to read “Furax.” I loved it. I was particularly moved by his characters and by their relationships. If nothing else, I guarantee that you’ll come away enthralled by Billy Rosen, his protagonist, and by the young yet extraordinarily powerful Smith College student who becomes Billy’s savior (no wonder women take to Furax!). I guess if I learned anything from this book, it’s that women rule.
My only regret: at book’s end Steve promises a sequel to “The Furax Connection.” I’ve asked him about it. No, that wasn’t his second novel. That one (“The Lynching Waltz”) is about a racial incident of his youth. In fact, he said, he was interviewed on national radio about lynching. I pressed him: could I at least read a draft even though it needs polishing? Reluctantly, he brought me a copy a few days later. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much different than Furax, full of US history, absolutely fascinating.
And now, I wish Steve would get off his derriere and finish “Lynching’s” rewrite so he can start in on the sequel to “Furax.”
