Fiction
Date Published: 01-04-2024
Publisher: Pageturner Press and Media
Julius T. Downer has lost his job at a prestigious Wall Street firm, his
lovely girlfriend who has run off with his best friend, and his shoebox of
an apartment where he and his girlfriend have been locked up in
Pandemic-stricken New York City during COVID. Without much money left, he
has little choice but to dump it all and relocate to Albany, New York, where
he lives hand-to-mouth at a Motel 6.
Demoralized, Downer knows he must get on his feet. He ventures to the most
cosmopolitan street in Albany, which is Lark Street, hoping to find another
girlfriend similar to the one who just abandoned him and also hoping to have
a little fun before he searches for another job. Instead, he finds an
antagonistic and unwelcoming crowd who snub him at every turn. The only ones
who welcome him in are those he terms as “freaks.” These are the
homeless, the drunks, the addicts, and the sex workers on Lark Street.
But his downward slide is mitigated by an outsider artist who takes up
residence in one of the few coffee shops that are established there. With
the help of this outsider artist and his group of “freakish”
friends, Julius T. Downer finds that he has a special supernatural ability
when it comes to viewing art.
And Downer enters Albany already hating artists and everything about them.
But after finding that he has this new ability bestowed upon him by this
outsider artist, he finds that his new relationship to art and the art world
around him can help many people who are suffering and struggling through
their own lives. Downer finds a new path to follow with the understanding
that he is just a “freak” himself.
About the Author
Harvey Havel has been a short-story writer and novelist for over thirty
years. His first novel, Noble McCloud, A Novel, about a young, struggling
musician was published in November of 1999. He now has nineteen books which
include novels, short stories, and two collections of essays on current
affairs and political matters.
His latest book is a serialized novel, The Queen of Intelligence: A 9/11
Novel, has just been released through Kindle Vella on Amazon.com in
2021.
Havel is formerly a Lecturer in English at Bergen Community College in
Paramus, New Jersey. He also taught writing and literature at SUNY Albany
and the College of Saint Rose, also in Albany, New York.
He currently lives there with his pet cat, Marty, and has many more books
in store for his many fans in future.
Copies of his books and short stories, both new and used, may be purchased
at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, Smashwords.com, or at your favorite
local bookstore.
An excellent interview with Harvey Havel by Robert Nagle of Personville
Press in Katy, Texas, can be found at Imaginary Planet.net.
His readers are encouraged to leave their honest comments about his work
anywhere his fine books are sold.
Contact Links
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