Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The Origins of “Horizon Homeless” By Larry Peterson @slipperywillie #Inspirational #Homeless #Suspense #KindleUnlimited

The seeds for this novel were probably planted inside me long ago.

During a four year period in the early 60’s our Mom died, Grandma (she lived with us) died and then Dad died. There were five of us and we had nothing. As the oldest I had to take charge and the threat of eviction (among other storm clouds) hung over us. My brothers were 13, 10 and six. My sister was 18 and I was 20. We pulled it all together and made it. (Read my book: The Priest and the Peaches, you might enjoy our story).

Years later I was living in Florida. I had come down with MS and the doctor’s advice was to get away from the cold and ice. My wife, (there was a GREAT woman for you. Years earlier, when I had three brothers to take care of she stuck with me. Her folks tried everything to break us up.) Heck, if it was my daughter wanting to marry a “ready-made family” I may have reacted the same way. But it was LOVE—for real! We made it work. Those years taught me much about adversity.

In the early 90’s I joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society. This turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. All we did was try our best to help people---“no strings attached”. I loved being able to do that. And that is where the seeds for “Horizon Homeless” sprouted into seedlings and grew into branches and turned into a novel.

One thing I quickly learned while working with SVDP was that the vast majority of people that asked for our assistance were just regular working class folks who had hit, as the saying goes. a “rough patch”. An unexpected layoff, a sudden illness, medications and specialist treatments for “little Johnny or Joanie”, electric power cut off for being two days late with a payment and not having the money to pay the bill plus the “late fee and reconnect fee”. No way to get to work because the car broke down. No work--no pay—no car –no job. No job—no rent money—no roof—and BOOM! You might be living in a non-running car or—under a bridge. The “domino theory” quickly becomes the “Rule” when these things happen and they happen to SO many people---all the time---all over the country.

Horizon Homeless is about Bob and Tracey Slider and their 12 year-old son, Jake. They are a composite of an average American family, doing OK, making ends meet and even having a bit left over. Then Tracey is ‘downsized” and the dominoes start to topple. Before you know it life has turned upside down for the Sliders. It is not far-fetched and it happens every day. Amazingly, people do not even realize it is happening until it has happened. Meet the people who come to St. Vincent de Paul and other organizations like it.

Come and meet Bob, Tracey and Jake Slider, an American family who are hanging on by a thread. To what, you ask? Their very existence, that’s what. Will they make it? How can they? Is there a force that moves them forward through adversity? Or will they become just another ‘homeless” statistic? Slide through the pages of Horizon Homeless” and find out.

Larry's novel is available on Amazon Kindle and is an Amazon Unlimited Deal! Here is the link and a Facebook/Twitter posting you can share to spread the word:
http://ow.ly/yI3O30bjSjw #NewRelease Larry Peterson's "Horizon Homeless" @slipperywillie #Inspirational #Homeless #Suspense #KindleUnlimited

Monday, May 1, 2017

Inspirational, Thought-Provoking Novel of Despair and Triumph - "Horizon Homeless" - Larry Peterson

Larry's new release is available for free as part of Kindle Unlimited! Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Homeless-Larry-Peterson-ebook/dp/B071HCZMPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493638785&sr=8-1&keywords=larry+peterson+homeless+horizon

Have you ever seen a homeless person and thought, Why don’t they just get a damn job?

Did you stop and think that maybe they had a job and then, through no fault of their own, they lost it.

Is it possible they tried as hard as they could but could not find another job? Did you consider that maybe there was an illness that altered their life? Maybe pain medications prescribed for an unwanted, debilitating injury turned them into a “victim addict”? Maybe they are a vet with a severe case of PTSD? Maybe it is certain type of mental illness? Do you know anything about that person you are looking at? We should remember that before people become homeless, they lived somewhere.

There are millions of people across this great land of ours that are pre-homeless. Please say hello to Bob and Tracey Slider and their son, Jake. They are a composite of so many American families that cover our land from ‘sea to shining sea’. They are among the millions of unnoticed, hardworking, Americans, locked into survival mode while trying their best to do the “right thing” every day. What happens when they are confronted with circumstances which place them on a road heading downward where the horizon up ahead turns homeless?

Can they make the turn and begin heading uphill? What choices will they make? What will determine their success or failure?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” Matt: 11:28