How the Days of Love and Diphtheria

Set in a busted Massachusetts mill town circa 1986, *The Castaway Lounge* is the story of Jackson "Applejack" Thibedeaux. Cocaine dealer, womanizer, and tough-guy-for-hire, Applejack is weary of the wrong life and trying to leave it behind. But all bets are off when a young pole dancer ends up dead during an after-hours party with a local businessman and politician, and our hero risks going to prison or worse by setting in motion a plan to bring the killers to justice.

Along the way, Applejack's fiancéeis abducted by a flying saucer and she goes on the Oprah Winfrey show to talk about her experience, a bible-thumping arsonist burns down the titty bar, and a disturbing love triangle forms when a washed-up guitar player seduces his teenage son's girlfriend. To further complicate matters, upon learning of her demise, the dead pole dancer's father and twin brother's thunder down from the high hills with violent intentions.

It is a dark world that these people live in, but from time to time slivers of light manage to break through. At its core, the book is an exploration of one man's struggle to choose between right and wrong. And the fact that sometimes the right choice requires the ultimate sacrifice.

**Jon Boilard** is the author of *A River Closely Watched*, a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. Born and raised in Western Massachusetts, Boilard lives in San Francisco, California.