Darkside of Paradise

These short stories plunge readers into unpredictable worlds where danger and resilience collide. Whether battling drug dealers, navigating the chaos of gang life, or surviving the oppressive trauma of abuse, these stories capture the relentless struggle to endure. Grit, courage, and survival thread through every page, offering both heart-pounding tension and unforgettable lessons about the human spirit.

Available now in Paperback, Kindle eBook, and Audible Audiobook.

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Inside the Book

Death in a Cage!

This is a true story. I watched prison officials force an old man, who had recently had heart surgery, onto a prison bus without his medication. We hadn't been on the road 15 minutes when the man had a heart attack. It seemed like an eternity before the State Police arrived and they opened the cage where the man sat motionless. The hadn't moved for a while. He was dead!.

The Chosen - 1970s

During the 1970s, my small rural hometown in Georgia was still locked in bitter disputes with the NAACP over desegregation. The fight centered around middle schools, which housed 6th through 8th graders, and tensions ran high in every corner of the county. While promises had been made to build a brand-new, integrated middle school to accommodate students of all races, construction dragged on endlessly. The delay festered resentment, anxiety, and uncertainty in both black and white communities.

As a temporary compromise, the county implemented a plan that was supposed to ease the tension. One hundred white students were selected to attend the previously all-black J.P. Carr School, while 100 black students would transfer to the formerly all-white Conyers Middle School until the new facility could finally open. I was one of the white students chosen for the J.P. Carr experiment, and here is a video about my experience.

Book Dedication

Lilly Bell Nichols

This book is lovingly dedicated to Granny Nichols — a devoted Christian, a Southern original, and a true character through and through.

I’ll never forget the good times — those childhood walks she took me and my brother on, to pick poke salad, to visit her colorful friends, and to the little store where I could spend my change on Fireballs.

Of course, there were the “traumatic” times too — like when she babysat us and told stories about bears crawling out of the well house at lunchtime to snack on little children. (To this day, I still give that well house a wide berth.)

And who could forget her legendary guilt trips? “Nobody cares,” she’d sigh, “just throw me on the side of the road and let the buzzards eat me.”

She was one of a kind — funny, dramatic, loving, and unforgettable. I sure do miss her.

Every Life has a Story Worth Telling.

Every Life has a Story Worth Telling.

Darkside of Paradise