Book excerpt: Fire in the Night is a novella-length tale of four National Guardsmen, lost, soaked, and freezing, who stumble upon an abandoned cabin in the middle of nowhere-- a sanctuary which fulfills their every need. Parker, the reluctant leader who is suffering from PTSD, discovers the cabin’s owner is a recently killed street preacher named John J. Monk. Parker soon realizes Monk’s death in front of hundreds of witnesses sparked the civil rebellion that has engulfed him. Parker investigates Monk’s death by examining the cabin and probing the memories of his fellow soldiers. He can almost feel Monk’s presence. That night, Monk’s spirit invades his dreams and fills him with memories not his own. Parker experiences an epiphany which changes him forever. May Eleventh is a memoir about returning from Vietnam during the height of that war, and finding a society as divided and dangerous as the war itself. In between these two stories are memoirs, fables, and fantasies which attempt to reveal the universal truths and powerful magic hidden in our everyday lives.