A Fool's Journey Series

A Fool’s Journey is a 21-part series of novelettes inspired by the Major Arcana of the Tarot. If you believe in fate, you might say Benjamin Porter, the protagonist in A Fool’s Journey, is destined to play the role of the Fool. But he’s no court jester. He is a soul untethered by conventional boundaries and relationships, his journey through life is illustrative in purpose and curious by nature. With a perceptive, inquisitive approach, A Fool’s Journey is a postmodern bildungsroman that explores questions we all have through the eyes of a single, modern man. Connecting the ancient arts with the sensuality and violence of contemporary America, the story imagines a life well lived as a roadmap to a personal nirvana. Beginning in his teenage years, when his primary concerns are immediate and physical, Ben stumbles his way through the friendships, relationships, and setbacks that dot life. As an adult, he seeks influences that expand his knowledge and challenge the assumptions of his youth. As he reaches maturity, he seeks to understand the more significant meaning of existence. Is it spiritual or scientific in nature, or are we merely cogs in the spread of a deck of cards in a game of chance, entertaining beings in a world we influence but can never reach?

A year ago, 17-year old Benjamin Porter, was in a knife fight defending his biker friend, Craig Marse. Tonight he’s sitting in an aisle seat with his voluptuous girlfriend Joan Ponti watching Romeo fight Tybalt in a duel. Joan is an actor (“Don’t call me an actress; I’ll kick your ass.”) from another high school who works with Ben at the local movie theater. Where Ben sees a vivacious girl free of judgment, Joan sees an attractive, naive male ingénue who is ripe for manipulation. Joan’s flattery encourages Ben to gradually drop all his adolescent guards and expose his vulnerabilities, insecurities, and foibles. But Joan reveals and exploits all of Ben’s flaws for her gain, hoping to control and change his journey. He embraces the world of Joan Ponti and her thespian friends as a way to learn about and express himself. But he discovers Joan and Craig may be different sides of the same coin. The drama created on stage is nothing like the intrigue created in Joan’s duplicitous world that may turn tragic. A Fool’s Journey is a 21-part series of novelettes inspired by The Fool and his journey through the twenty-one Major Arcana of the Tarot. Follow Benjamin Porter, from 15 to 28 (1975 to 1988), in the first seven novelettes—and the first part of the trilogy—where he explores the sensual, physical facets of contemporary American life. The High Priestess is the second in the series, and Ben’s second lesson is about trust, in others and in himself.

Eighteen-year-old Benjamin Porter is solitary, brooding, and insecure after the betrayals by his best friend Craig Marse (the Magician) and then a year later by his girlfriend Joan Ponti (the High Priestess), different sides of the same coin. He finds solace hibernating in the winter months escaping into books and doing menial labor like shoveling driveways. But in the spring, when Benjamin meets Emma Patricce, the head ornamental horticulturist at Patricce’s Nursery, his journey takes a decisive turn. Em is an older woman, sensual, earthy, and confident in her surroundings. Working with her, Benjamin discovers his true character again as her nurturing, supportive, and genuine friendship brings him out of his ennui and self-loathing. It should be no surprise that by fall, Ben is in love with her. But the first woman Ben has ever loved can only cultivate his spirit so far; the rest is up to him. Ben’s journey sits at a crossroads and his destiny may rely on Em Patricce more than he realizes.

After leaving his landscaping job, Benjamin Porter wanders into a retail apparel store at a nearby mall. Full of confidence he credits to Em Patricee, he applies for a job and is hired as a part-time salesman. Having learned how to read people from Craig Marse and role-playing from Joan Ponti, Benjamin Porter quickly displays a talent for selling trendy fashion to naive young men with disposable income. Surrounded by men vying for power and control in one way or another, Benjamin learns the art of politics. His district manager, regional manager, store manager, and even his father, all make demands particular to their needs, and Ben meets every challenge. But his loyalties are tested when his quick rise up the corporate ladder threatens one of the power brokers. As a new assistant manager, he stumbles upon an embezzling scheme and positions himself for a takeover. But who can he trust with this information? If he misplays his hand then he’ll only succeed it getting himself fired. Ben turns to his friend, Matthew Cohen, the manager who hired and mentored him, as an ally. As tension builds and battle lines are drawn, Benjamin prepares to make his move only to discover the intrigues of this corporate world are complex and strangely intoxicating. He becomes seduced by the fashion world, the woman, the money, and his newfound power. But the dynamics of the company change suddenly when an unexpected event occurs that puts Ben in a potentially disastrous position. Did he pick the right “emperor” to align with and help him climb the corporate ladder?