Rilaly's Blog
Simple Truths

1) The Ghost of Carl–This is the first readable book I’ve written.  This is the moral story.

Carl McDougal is dead. Who cares? Carl McDougal may have been murdered. Murder most foul. No one cares. Dominic McDougal is alive. Who cares? He may be able to shake up the world with original and exciting works of art. No one cares. He sucks. He’s weird. That won’t stop him. “You’re wasting the precious gift called life,” it whispered. That’s how it began. Was it Carl? Was Carl coming back from the dead to stop his son from going down the same road he fell down, or was Carl trying to save himself from whatever demons were chasing him in the afterlife? Was Carl, as Michalas suggests, trying to escape the plane of hell he is on by advising Dominic to live a better, more produtive life?  Or was this whole thing the result of a couple of over active imaginations? Regardless, the characters involved in these dilemmas are extremely good looking. They make some mistakes along the way, but they are not mentally challenged.

The book “The Ghost of Carl” is not as somber as this synopsis may imply. I attempted to jam as much humor as was possible in a philosophical, family saga about abuse and the fight to maintain artistic individuality. It’s dark humor, that is disturbing at times, but it is always pertinent.

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghost-of-Carl-ebook/dp/B006N0LKIC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336607343&sr=8-1

LULU print: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sean-riley/the-ghost-of-carl/paperback/product-14728698.html

LULU eBook: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sean-riley/the-ghost-of-carl/ebook/product-17414868.html

2) Coltrane–This is the immoral story.  This is a story about two criminals who don’t give a frog.  It’s a story about the me me society we live in where no one is guilty.  They commit crimes and kill people, but there’s a judge who convicts them and ruins their lives.

John Coltrane and Corey Dugan have been sentenced for crimes they did commit, and they plot revenge on the judge who sentenced them.  It’s a story of the pursuit of random violence and a pursuit of what feels good for the sole purpose of feeling good and doing what’s fun, like robbing a Kwik Shop.  It’s a story in which the crimes are not only premeditated, they’re scripted.  They’re so scripted that when one of the characters messes up a line, he asks for a retake in the middle of the commission of a Kwik Shop robbery.  To the horror of the Kwik Shop patrons, the burglars are apparently unhappy with the manner in which the burglary went down, and they enact a second take.  In the second take, they use super soakers filled with a chemical that will burn for hours, if not days.  Following the robbery, Corey Dugan’s psychology is investigated through a series of crimes and a pursuit of love, until he is finally captured and sentenced to life in The Institute.  After exploring his psychology, Coltrane busts Corey out of The Institute and the two of them seek revenge on the judge who sentenced them.

The only problem with this book is that it will attract the Palahniuk, Tarantino crowd, and most of my other books are of the more moral, intellectual fare.

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Coltrane-ebook/dp/B006LR5QC8

LULU Print: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sean-m-riley/coltrane/paperback/product-18487865.html

3) Midnight at the Chicango–A collection of all of the best short stories I’ve written thus far.

There’s Something about Eddie: Eddie is angry about his lot in life.  Eddie has a secret.  Eddie has lost his mother.  Eddie is angry that his Dad is selling their cabin.  The family that is purchasing this cabin is a complete, loving family.  Eddie is jealous.  Eddie introduces one of the kids (Brad) to a rock, located on the outskirts of their cabin, deep in the forest.  The rock has some kind of energy to it, something that causes Brad to froth at the mouth and shake and seize.  Brad’s little brother Ty screams, fearing that his brother will die.  “He won’t die.  He’ll be a vegetable, but he won’t die.”  As the other family leaves the park, rushing Brad to the hospital, Eddie can’t stop smiling.  He’s on the border of laughter.  He can’t help it.  There’s something about this he likes.  Ellis Reddick is a failure in life, and he’ll do whatever it takes to be taken seriously.  Laurence Venkerhove is defined by those around him, and now that it’s too late they all appreciate him for it.  Baby: A man doesn’t like his child.  He never wanted a child.  He wanted a wife, until they had a child.  Devil Inside: Lloyd Bores is about to be a successful screenwriter.  He creates stories about vampires.  He is surrounded by fake vampires, and he is trying to write his way out of becoming a story.  Mr. Cab Driver is stuck in a dead end job he loves.  He picks up an overly sexual, under satisfied passenger who thinks she’s Supergirl.  She has soft lips, and she sings gospel songs.  She is everything a lonely cab driver wants in life, until she tries flying across the room.  Captain Edritch is a story about Cash Davis—the worst stunt driver in America.  He packs auditoriums not because he’s good, but because he’s bad.  He has a number of accidents.  He nearly dies so often that people pack the house to watch him die a miserable death.  He dies, but a mysterious creature brings him back to life in an attempt to salvage his legacy. Eucalyptus Estates: Joe Audliffe is now a successful apartment manager.  He no longer has to date ugly chicks.  He openly informs these women of this and stirs up a hornet’s nest.

Ebook: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sean-m-riley/passing-the-open-windows/ebook/product-18593627.html

Print: http://www.lulu.com/shop/sean-m-riley/passing-the-open-windows/paperback/product-18488508.html