Outskirts Press, INC.

I was told as a child by many that I have a vivid imagination and a natural ability to write short stories. The recent passing of my mother gave me the desire to complete this novel. It was an obvious way for me to deal with the pain of her death. I’ve spent numerous of days thinking of writing my story, but didn’t take the initiative to complete my work. A few days after my mother’s death, she came to me in a dream and said “Eric, Finish it.” This is my first novel and God gets all the praise! Once again, I would like to thank God and dedicate this novel to my late grandmother Mary Evelyn Gauntt and my late mother Patricia Ann Robbins. They were a great team and did a wonderful job on keeping me motivated in making good life choices. When I was younger, I thought about quitting school and my grandmother talked me out of it. She mentioned a short story to me, it was about a guy that was 23 years old that finished high school at that age. She stated that this guy didn’t give up on school and now he’s a doctor. That story motivated me to finish school while receiving multiple degrees and it shaped me into the person that I am today. I one day asked my grandmother about this guy and she started to laugh. It was that moment, that I realized that she made this story up. Thanks Mary Evelyn Gauntt, for you, I am thankful for each opportunity that’s placed in front of me. I told myself one day, that I must do something that I’ve never done to get to where I would like to be in life. This is that opportunity and I plan to take full advantage!