The Old Man at My Door

By Rodney Ross

A winter storm warning blanketed the local news stations before the blizzard itself. This blustery Saturday was going to be sweatpants, banana bread, and a Golden Girls binge for Renata Todd. But at her farmhouse door, already flocked with fresh snow, comes an unexpected knock: Albin Lawrence, an old man who grew up in the house in the 40s and 50s.

Renata’s caution yields to common sense as she welcomes him in for a tour. What danger could a shaky man over eighty, who has only one arm, represent?

Albin’s reluctant to leave and eager to talk. As Renata welcomes him into the kitchen to, he takes a barstool to tell his story ... his stern parents’ suspicions of his homosexuality; the day he fled with his parents, never to return; navigating the decades of secret bars, marginal jobs, free love, questionable choices, and AIDS; and a relationship truncated by social pressure and tragedy.

As the episodes turn darker, Renata begins to uneasily suspect something more is afoot.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Jun 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685500498

Rodney Ross

Author Rodney Ross lives, writes and sweats in Southern California. His new novel, 'Diversionary Fires', debuted mid-Summer 2021 from Amazon KDP Select. 'The Cool Part Of His Pillow', his debut novel, was the 1st Place Winner in the GLBT Fiction category from both the Indie Excellence Awards and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards; Silver Medalist in the 2013 Global EBook Awards; and Honorable Mention in the 2012 Rainbow Book Awards. In 2020, it was re-issued in a 2nd edition by JMS Books. Other works include the forthcoming novella 'Smoking With Didi,' from JMS Books in the Fall of 2021; 'Signing Off' in the short story collection' Impact', from Other World Ink; 'Otis,' a short fiction about a Christmas Eve where lessons are taught and learned; 'Bended Knee', a short, bittersweet contemplation of same-sex marriage; and a non-fiction contribution to the 'The Other Man: Twenty-One Top Writers Speak Candidly About Sex, Love, Infidelity, Heartbreak and Moving On'. A trio of essays from this book are being adapted into a play by Chicago playwright Bernard Rice. Rodney's work is one of the three. Past achievements include an optioned screenplay and play, both currently unproduced. Other screenplays earned Honorable Mentions or runners-up citations in the Monterey County Film Commission, FADE-IN and the LGBT One-In-Ten Screenwriting Competitions. Ross was also cited as 'Most Creative' in the Key West Mystery Fest Writing Competition. Follow him @rodtross on Twitter; access his website at www.rodneytross.com