Wanderer: An Ice Hockey Novel

You witness the destruction of your father at the hands of Smith, a rouge hockey player-for-hire. Eight years old, you watch from the corner of the room as this great player walks away from your father and causes the ruin of your family. Not yet knowing how, or contemplating the consequences, you vow revenge.

Wanderer is the journey to deliver that revenge. From your hometown to the barren cold of the north, you train. The old man was only a vague legend, until that first night alone on the ice proved how real he was. He shows no mercy as you seek only to survive his methods. Coming out stronger, you track down what is left of Smith and begin the plan you designed that day he betrayed your father.

Wanderer has one foot in myth and the other in action. Trying to capture the excitement of a sports film in words on a page, the chapters are short and the action swift. Still, Wanderer has depth. Drawn from mythic Zen stories and legends, nothing is as simple or straightforward as it appears. Each action has a consequence. Triumph increases the immediacy of plot with storytelling techniques meant to place the reader in the moment.

Great sports fiction is rare. While readers seek to relive the thrill of playing, writers too often see sports as a setting in which to place their story. And those who focus only on the events often miss the emotion and drama players carry inside. Wanderer finds the balance.