A Carousel of Sorts

Book excerpt: A Carousel of Sorts is a dizzying leap into the shallow end of the pool of life. The story embraces the enormity of the world and the underlying idiosyncrasies that connect us all in the end. And perhaps along the way, on the wings of the fabled Carik birds from the tale, some of those answers will appear somewhere amidst the infinite spectrum between Bob Dylan’s song lyrics and the ingredients to Cocoa Puffs cereal. Sawyer Redwine, happens upon his own chance at redemption by stumbling into the life of Ashton James during a robbery. They hightail their lives across country in order to create a fresh start careening into Blaiku “Willy” Williams, the final piece in this triangle of fate. From the festive weirdness of a religious carnival located in Iowa to the eccentric values of a cosmetics mogul in Minneapolis, the triumvirate’s journey unfolds under a tabloid, fashion reporter’s eyes. Interwoven in the trio’s new America are an angel who appears to be Ted Nugent, a Mafia hitman trying to become a rodeo clown, an elderly woman who speaks only through Hallmark cards, and an obsessive narrator with a bloated ego and a magically spiked six-pack of beer.