Not to the Swift

When a white policeman shoots an unarmed black teenager, the faith and strength of two families are shaken and a Midwest inner city community struggles with all-too-familiar tensions. The city's lead investigator strives to control escalating protests, a middle school teacher tries to calm her frightened students, and a pastor sees a rare opportunity for his community's voice to be heard. The victim's friend feels the prison walls of gang and drug-related violence closing in, and the officer suffers under a burden of guilt and shame. But the heaviest decision falls on average-Joe hospital technician George Washington, who finds himself--gun in hand--face to face with the man who killed his son.

Background: In 2014, I completed my first National Novel Writing Month challenge--in November, I wrote a novel with 50,000 words. I published the book, but never promoted it. No one wants to pay for something with no idea what they're going to get. So I'm going to post preview chapters. All my books are available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.

What's this book about?

When I first committed to writing a novel, I planned on doing one of my fantasy projects. But the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson and the resulting explosion of racial tensions dominated the news. What I saw online frustrated me. I knew that there was more to the story than any one side would likely present. Such complex issues aren't answered by sound bites and 140-character policy statements.
I read up on aspects of culture I had no exposure to. I sought perspectives that wouldn't appear on my Facebook feed or regular web browsing. And I devoured some great books by Malcolm Gladwell that address human nature from an analytical angle using racial tensions and the civil rights movement as primary examples.
I was amazed, moved, challenged, and inspired. And I knew that though I arguably have no right to say anything on the subject of racial tensions, I had to write this book.