So as by Fire: A Play in One Act

By Wm. Matthew Graphman and Marian Poe

Josh is the youngest of four with two older sisters and an older brother. He is a committed Christian working as a firefighter in the suburbs. Christmas Eve has come, and Josh has returned home to spend the evening with his family, celebrating the birth of his Savior only to face ridicule. Trying to calm the situation, Joshs father and mother step in and try to control the dialogue, but they, too, secretly harbor deep feelings of their own. At the core of the divisiveness overshadowing the family is Joshs decision to set aside a potential career as a professional athlete for a more selfless and sacrificial career.

Jake is the oldest of the four and a well-to-do accountant who recently went through a divorce. Adam, Jakes son, was allowed to come to the gathering and is a bright spot in the whole affair for Josh. Next in line is Sabrina. She is a graphics designer and currently lives with her boyfriend, enjoying a free-spirited and immoral life. Melody is the closest in age to Josh and still lives at home. Barely finishing high school a few years ago, she struggles to find direction in her life. Josh suspects that Melody has turned to drugs as a means of escape, but Joshs mother and father refuse to believe it. Having spent the last couple of years working part time in a Quick Mart, Melody has grown depressed and distant from all in the family. At one time, she had aspirations to become a writer, but hopelessness has consumed her dreams.

Joshs mother and father are retired and have been for several years. Both have at one point in their lives professed Christ as their Savior, but apathy has taken the place of a life filled with faith for many years. Joshs mother has recently begun to reach back toward her faith, but the years of neglect have made it difficult to escape her present state. Dads faith is stagnant at best, and he has lost any love for the Savior that he may have once had. Simply bidding his time, Joshs father waits for the inevitable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781973604099

Wm. Matthew Graphman

Matthew Graphman is a twenty-five-year veteran in the information technology world. He studied writing, drama, as well as computers while attending Bob Jones University in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There he met his wife, Wendy, of twenty-five years and started a family. He currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife and children, Kathryn (Kat) and Ethan. His oldest son, Sean, is married and lives on the East Coast. Matthew has long been a fan of fantasy fiction. His first attempt at writing was brought on by his roommates in college. As a result, he wrote his first - still unpublished - fantasy novel. After graduating, Matthew continued his writing exploits, but his focus was mostly around theater. After developing a series of children’s skits in the 2000’s, he was encouraged to take the skits and convert them into a series of children’s chapter books. To date, he has written five of the fifteen stories in the “Chel & Riley Adventures” series. Taking a break from creating children’s fiction and drama, Matthew decided to reach back, at the request from his daughter Kat, and create a fantasy world that mixed all of her favorite thematic elements. This series is currently outlined to cover five volumes; however, he is convinced that there could be many more stories that evolve out of this new universe. Matthew is a recent winner of the 2016 and 2017 NaNoWriMo challenge. He is currently working on a board game based upon the Silverwood story along with several other projects.

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Copyright © 2017 Wm. Matthew Graphman.

Cover art by Marian Poe

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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Bloomington, IN 47404

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-0408-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-0409-9 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/27/2017

Contents

Synopsis

Characters

Scene Breakdown

Act I

Scene 1: The Arrivals

Scene 2: Later that day

Scene 3: Dinner

Scene 4: Later that Night – Setting the Stage

Scene 5: The Fire and Rescue

Scene 6: Epilogue

Scene 6: Epilogue – Alternate Ending

About the Author

So As By Fire was first performed at Morgantown Baptist Church in 2005 under the direction of the author.

Dedication

This story was inspired in part by the career selection of my younger brother Luke. As a professional firefighter, he is prepared to -- at any time -- go places where others would flee. Thank you for your bravery and dedication to others!

Synopsis

Josh is the youngest of four, two older sisters and an older brother. Josh is a Christian who works as a firefighter in the suburbs of a distant city. He has come home for Christmas Eve only to spend the evening being chided by his older siblings. His Father and Mother try to calm the situation but secretly side with the older kids over his lost potential as a professional athlete. The oldest, his brother – Jake, is a well-to-do accountant who is recently divorced. Jake has brought his son, Josh’s favorite nephew - Adam to the house to celebrate Christmas. Sabrina, the next oldest, is a graphics designer and she has a live-in boyfriend. This is the third or fourth this year – but who’s counting. Melody is the next youngest of the group, and she is still living at home. It is thought that she is on drugs, but mom & dad refuse to believe it. She barely managed to graduate high school and is struggling with what to do with her life. She has spent the last couple years working part time at a quick-mart. She has aspirations of becoming a great writer but has not managed to make anything happen. Mom & dad are retired. Both are believers but have failed to live their faith for many years. Mom has recently begun to reach back towards her faith but is struggling against the years of apathy and neglect. Dad