Conversations with Clete

By Steve Sporleder

In “Conversations with Clete,” Cletus Rossiter, a man in his mid-sixties, is concerned about his snoring and sleep apnea, and records himself while sleeping in order to find out how bad his apnea is. But he gets far more than he bargained for when strange voices show up in the recordings and he even hears himself speaking German, a language he doesn’t know. He encounters Kruger, a Nazi soldier; Zeralda, a widow from the 1880s, and a club boxer, Kid Pierpont. Clete is left to wonder if these are dreams or if he is dealing with ghosts from the historic past?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Sporleder
• Release date: Jan 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301043965

Steve Sporleder

Steve Sporleder is a lifelong resident of Los Gatos, and the author of three books, From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats; A Fouled Nest, and Gallivanting in the City, all set in the town of Los Gatos, CA. Steve, a former firefighter in Saratoga, CA, for thirty-two years, draws on his experience as a fifth-generation Los Gatos resident to infuse his writing with local flavor and history. His grandfather, father, uncles and brothers were also in the fire service and his family has served the town of Los Gatos and surrounding areas for over 100 years. His most recent novel, From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats was a Finalist in the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats, Steve recounts the saga of four generations of la familia Reyes in powerful, moving terms. Through his consummate storytelling and details of setting and place, we are transported to 1917 when newlyweds Ramon and Monica Reyes flee the Mexican Revolution in search of the “American Dream.” In a defining moment in the 1940s, Miguel “Mickey” Reyes, their teenage son, makes a life-altering decision late one night in the outskirts of the barrios of Los Angeles that forever shapes this family’s destiny—a tragedy that propels the Reyes family away from Sleepy Lagoon and north to the quiet and lush town of Los Gatos. Gallivanting in the Gem City – Whether it’s the “Dirty Boys of Boo Gang”, when a bucolic 1933 summer day turns tragic at the town swimming hole along Los Gatos Creek, catapulting three young boys toward a decision that will have consequences over three generations, or any of his other energetic stories, Gallivanting will leave you both longing for the gentler days of the past and eerily wary of the darkness hidden within innocence. A Fouled Nest – Thirty years after fleeing Los Gatos, California, Venice Webb receives a call from his sister with the news that their father has died. In a startling mix of abrupt confessions, resurfacing memories, and disturbing clues, Venice is left to piece together the incidents that have forever marked his family. At once, the truth about his father’s erratic behavior and neglect closes in on Venice like a freight train at full speed.

Book preview

Conversations with Clete

A Short Story

Steve Sporleder

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2012 by Steve Sporleder

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

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All rights reserved.

Cover design and illustration by: Letty Samonte

Conversations with Clete is fiction. The characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Other books by Steve Sporleder

From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats

A Fouled Nest

Gallivanting in the Gem City

Available from: www.rp—author.com/Sporleder

http://www.smashwords.com

http://www.Amazon.com

http://www.Barnes & Noble.com

Contributor to:

Saratoga Fire: A Century of Volunteer Firefighting in Saratoga, California

by April Halberstadt

Contact Steve Sporleder:

www.stevesporleder.com

Facebook: Steve Sporleder

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CHAPTER I

He wasn’t just any soldier, not by a long stretch; he was a World War II German soldier in combat uniform. It would have been strange to see a German soldier looking in the window of a ranch-style home in this small Northern California town in the middle of the night, almost seventy years after VE Day, even if he were visible.

His dark green coal scuttle helmet sat properly on his head of red hair. His slate gray tunic was neatly pressed and the insignia of a gunner adorned the collar. The trousers, also gray, were tucked into shiny black calf jackboots. He had no weapon, but he moved with the stealth of a sniper, edging from the window and making his way to the backyard, careful to let sleeping dogs lie just in case any were around. Like a burglar casing the place, he peered into another window. He wasn’t a burglar, but he would’ve made a good one; nobody could see him.

CHAPTER II

I took a big swig of cranberry juice, straight from the plastic bottle, to break up the gravel in