Novelist

Novelist
Daniel (Danny) Lance Wright, Author

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Latest Review of "One Day in Lubbock", a novel

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book that evoked many emotions!June 27, 2014
This review is from: One Day in Lubbock (Kindle Edition)
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim

one-day-in-lubbock-daniel-lance-wrightThis was an excellent book for which I cried, such sadness and heartbreak but all is mended in the end with an ending that is totally unexpected. I read this is one setting because I couldn’t wait to find out how it ended. Everyone wants a second chance or a do-over. Very few get a second chance but when they do it never quite turns out the way they expect it.

William Dillinger is an elderly man that is working in a hospital as floor maintenance. Many mistakes made in his younger years has him wearing a bracelet, the kind you wear when you have served time in prison and now a parolee. Will learned early in life that he had a certain charm and a way to twist words to his advantage. Sadly, he uses it to scam people out of their life savings until one day he scammed a woman and caused her demise, hence the bracelet.

Now with only memories of better days of his youth, Will runs into the love of his life. Friends since the first time they saw each other in grade school he remembers back to when he made the mistake that changed his life. Graduation night Will turned away the only person who ever loved him and now here she is visiting someone in the hospital.

Bea is a nurse on staff and befriends Will and tries to help him anyway she can. They form a friendship and Will opens up to her because he has no one else and Bea actually listens to him like she’s really interested in what he has to say.

Will suddenly feels faint and dizzy, then drops to the floor. He’s thinking it’s a reaction to hearing the voice of his longtime friend. Bea takes one look at him and she thinks differently. She makes him go to the ER and see the doctor because of that Bea has saved his life.

As Will lays in the hospital bed, his life finally comes full circle as he hears and remembers stories about his past and his love. Sometimes what is in front of you is what you need and sometimes it’s overlooked until it’s too late. This time it was right on time.

My heart just broke for Will, who caused himself so much heartache, so much pain because he was so focused on nothing but himself. Sigh****

Blog Tour: "One Day in Lubbock", a novel

A blog tour begins today for my novel, "One Day in Lubbock". Please click on the links below, enjoy and then share with friends. Have a wonderful day.  -Daniel Lance Wright
http://bit.ly/VtVtrZ

http://bit.ly/TEmwPK

Friday, June 27, 2014

Good Reviews Are Now Pouring In

By 
Nathan Albright (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: One Day in Lubbock (Kindle Edition)

This book plays with a premise that is deeply moving, and ought to strike a chord with many potential readers, and that is the way in which this novel sets up the situation where an old man who should be retired is instead working as a janitor at a hospital to try to keep one foot in front of each other to avoid a return to the bad ways that landed him in jail. Then, on what would appear to be an ordinary day, the author sets up a situation where this man gets the chance to reconnect with his first love, whose young relationship is detailed in a series of emotional flashbacks that leave Will Dillinger unable to function normally, and unable to resist lowering the wall that he has built up over time to prevent him from bonding with others, walls that started with childhood as a con artist and a charmer who used his gifts for evil and feels unworthy of grace.

There is, of course, a darker side to this memory of early love. While the specific scenarios of high school students fearing positive pregnancy tests and dealing with the stress of marriage and family before they have any sort of education or jobs is not something I am familiar with, I know of a situation that is not so unlike that of the premise of this novel that did not work out very well. In that particular case, a woman who was married to a decent and upright man got in touch with a widower who had been an old high school flame and ended up beginning an affair with him that split up the family and led to a lot of very dangerous complications. This is, therefore, not a premise that I view with equanimity, especially when the book flashes back to an unsuccessful marriage between Kate and an alcoholic man. This is the sort of story that a lot of people will be able to relate to, broken people seeking wholeness and love and some sort of redemption.

It would be unfair to spoil the various twists and turns of the story, but it is certainly a very convenient tale in many ways. We see Kate as a relatively innocent young woman whose life is changed by marriage to an alcoholic and who has to deal with frustrations and a vestigial sense of loyalty. We see Will struggling with loneliness and the belief that life has entirely passed him by. In wanting to root for love, we see a few surprises, and one where the meet cute at the end, the second chance at life, is not in fact as we would expect, but it is a surprise that is well-earned and a conclusion that ought to be satisfying for readers who want to see love and grace in action, as well as the corrosive effects of secrets and lies and misplaced guilt. Although this is not the sort of novel I usually read, this is a novel that will richly reward readers looking for a second chance at a first chance, which, honestly, includes most of us.

Monday, June 16, 2014

On the road again with "One Day in Lubbock"

It's time for another trip to the South Plains of Texas and I'm sure looking forward to it. To all old friends, new friends, and friends yet to be, I have book signings Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week. I do hope you'll drop by one of the events and spend a few minutes with me to celebrate my latest novel, "One Day in Lubbock". Here's the itinerary:
Friday, 6/20, N-3pm, Holiday Inn Express Lobby, Brownfield
Saturday, 6/21, 2p-4p, Hastings, 50th Street, Lubbock
Sunday, 6/22, 2p-4p, Hastings, 82nd Street, Lubbock

Saturday, June 7, 2014

"One Day in Lubbock" Memorial Week Signing Tour

It's time... well, actually past time, that I let you know that I appreciate each and every one of you that took the time to drop by the signing events in Wichita Falls, TX and Lubbock, TX during the Memorial holiday week.

Once you've read "One Day in Lubbock", could I ask you to offer an opinion of it? Reviews are the lifeblood of a novelist. A great place to do it is at the Amazon link below:

http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B00IOSBVUS/ref=acr_search_see_all?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Now, I'm looking forward to a quick June tour:
Brownfield, TX          Holiday Inn               N-4pm              6/20
Lubbock, TX             Hastings                    2-4pm               6/21
                                  (50th St)
Lubbock, TX             Hastings                    2-4pm               6/22
                                  (82nd St)                

See you then.