Book excerpt: Main Street Melody is an uninhibited, melodramatic novel of love and romance that speaks to the intrinsic sway of ... music. MELODY reveals the power of music. Often, just the first few bars of a tune can revive a memory of many decades ago or almost magically flip an internal switch, changing despair into joy and loneliness into a swath of warmth. No other domain in our society has that capacity and that personal impact. Music, in its many forms, meets the “needs” of every person in every demographic category. The teenage and adult characters in this textured novel of the age of innocence will touch your heart in endless ways from the tenderness of a first kiss, to the nefarious pranks of unfettered youth. In each moment of wonderment there will be music as you have never experienced it before. From the echoes of car radios, to the magnificent sound of a concert band, the creative excitement of a garage band to that singular voice, that when heard just once can never be forgotten. The purported calculable components of life are often capricious, as one can never count on the preciseness of happenstance. Such are the purported necessities of life, food, water, shelter, and clothing. Indeed, each is indispensable but at the mercy of economic and environmental conditions. With all of that to contemplate in the textured world all about us, one element brings forth the dreams and memories of special moments, hope, and love, ... MUSIC. The dramatic conclusion surely will convince you that MUSIC, like love, never fails, and no matter the occasion or the circumstance of life, music makes the darkest moments more tolerable and enhances the zenithal peaks of a lifetime. “Main Street” Melody will capture the fullness of your senses ... and bring music to new heights in your heart.