Book excerpt: Pink Flamingo Waves is a gripping collection of short stories - including a tale about two friend's true test of loyalty and a stripper forced to work as an informant for the FBI. These stories exist in worlds just past reality, or not? Just slightly uncomfortable, familiar - until, suddenly, they aren't. Each story reveals at once the absolute absurdity and magnificence of being alive. Neil's writing and world-building demand space to reflect on, react to, and then live in it. The Motherless Two long-time friends find themselves entangled in the drug cartel scene of Mexico during a surf trip, after one of them sets out to pay off an old street debt. The burden of one becomes the burden of the other and their friendship is tested when both come face to face with death's door. Retox The leader of an all-female biker gang hunts down a shady rehab mogul after learning that her sister has become the latest victim in his predatory game of preying on vulnerable female patients for his own sadistic pleasure. The Dukes A minor league baseball team's collective spirit endures the modern-day trials of COVID-19, a financial crisis, personal life, and everything that comes with being the talk of a small town. Respect the Mic A wealthy young man's mental illness is seemingly nonexistent in the presence of his favorite music, but when he meets the artist behind the lyrics in person, things take an irreversible turn for the worst. Black & Grey An ex-con is released from prison into a life where it's all too easy for him to remain in the comfort of his old wayward ways. An apprenticeship with a famous tattoo artist in East L.A. looks promising until the facade of it all fades away revealing life-threatening secrets. Echo & The Diamond A young woman's dream to work with the FBI becomes a reality, but under the worst of circumstances. Her best friend is found murdered and to find the truth of how she was killed, she must descend into a life of corruption as a hired companion to some of the wealthiest and perverted men in the world. Her only lead? One of them is guilty. Valle de Guadalupe A young family moves to Baja's wine region to get away from city life, but the deceptive appearance of tranquility quickly bears the fruit of something more sinister after meeting the locals.