Published Books by Ray Spengler
READING CAN BE SO MUCH FUN THAT SOME MIGHT THINK IT'S SINFUL
NOT A GOOD TIME TO DIE
Where do writer's get the ideas for their works? I'm sure that there are as many answers to that as there are writers. For this novel, all it took was to be sitting in my study one day glancing at the obituaries where the concept of death, the final part of life, drew me in. I thought of my wife and how I needed to survive if she were to leave our union first. My mind simply ran wild and a theme occurred to me. I then only needed to develop it, be true to it, and make it into something interesting. I believe that I have succeeded. I hope that you will take a chance and see for yourself.
To view the publisher's presentation of this book and read an excerpt, please take a moment and visit MY FIRST NOVEL.
Also now available at Amazon.com.
→ CHECK OUT THE REVIEW PAGE FOR THIS NOVEL
You can also read my press release, below.
DEBUT NOVEL TACKLES CLOSURE AFTER DEATH
LOCAL AUTHOR FOLLOWS UP MEMOIR WITH FICTION
A glance at the newspaper obituary column one day became the catalyst for Ray Spengler to write his first novel, NOT A GOOD TIME TO DIE. “I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular,” said Spengler, “but the older you get, such reading often becomes routine.”
Having self-published a memoir of his private piloting experiences five years earlier, he knew that he wanted to continue writing, with general fiction his genre of interest. Although also working on other manuscripts that might better suit traditional publishing, he decided that he needed to publish Not a Good Time to Die. “There are some things you simply find it necessary to complete,” Spengler said.
The novel works to validate a thoughtful concept: No matter the circumstance, trust that when a loved one passes, everything of importance will have been shared. “It’s not a morbid theme, but a hopeful one,” Spengler notes. “Full of life’s fun, fear and fury,” he adds, “the book prompts the reader to embrace one man’s struggle to learn that lesson.”
He explains that, in the story, the protagonist’s wife suddenly dies and the survivor is faced with the dilemma many people confront when a loved one passes: How can they possibly go on living without that person. The grief process is complex, and the closure mechanism varies for each individual but, in one form or another it’s necessary for all. The last thing the survivor needs to worry about is if the deceased did not know how much he/she was loved.
The novel explores this concept with the aid of supernatural and paranormal elements woven into the framework. “Readers might easily identify with some of the situations but they should expect the unexpected, especially the ending.”
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