A Sticky Business: Fact-based Novel & Short Stories

Monterey, California, May 1, 2015 (Newswire.com) - After being diagnosed with MDS, a rare, incurable cancer of the bone marrow, author Mel King contemplated whether there is an after-life. He was inspired to write his second book, a fact-based novel into which he inserted two fictional protagonists so as to raise an age-old question. In 1919, a young priest in Boston witnesses a tragic incident in which several blocks of the North End are destroyed and many men, women and children are killed or injured. He begins a quest to learn why God permitted such a disaster to befall innocent people while two Mafia Dons lead long and prosperous lives. He befriends an attorney who gathers evidence and prosecutes those he believes are responsible for the incident. What the attorney proves to be the cause of the incident bears marked similarity to many other tragic incidents that have occurred up to the present day, for history does repeat itself.  But the priest and his friend ultimately reach different conclusions as to the priest’s quest.

The rest of the book consists of 14 creative nonfiction short stories. They begin with the story of a poor boy from Brooklyn who moves West, becomes a famous lawman, only to have his career shattered when secrets from his distant past are revealed. He dies a pauper, his achievements forgotten. The other stories range from an Olympic athlete who achieves a glorious but costly victory, to the journalist who gets a killer scoop.

Mel King is a graduate of Bates College and Harvard Law School. After spending five years as a professor at a California law school and over forty years as a successful trial attorney, he retired and turned to writing fact-based stories. His first book, THE END OF THE LINE and other stories, was published in 2012. His second book will be published in May, 2015.Readers between the ages of twelve to ninety should find his new book entertaining, interesting and, hopefully, it will inspire them to learn more about history.  History does repeat itself. Unless one knows about past mistakes, he is bound to repeat them in the future.