Place

by Ned White

PLACE... a literary novel of suspense, romance, family and personal crisis, with shadings of physics and metaphysics. PLACE is the story of a man and the woman he loves seeking firm footing for their lives in a post-9/11 American landscape where “sense of place” is fractured and uncertain. Hugh Ogden, late 40s, is a computer systems theorist specializing in Artificial Life. Abigail Sipes, a high-powered corporate consultant with celebrity cachet, is struggling to carry on with her life in the wake of profound family tragedy. Their central problem is Abigail’s unique somewhere in the blurred space between pure metaphor and empirical reality, she physically disappears. Is it because of the collective force of other people's myopia, or is it somehow linked to her deep personal loss? Complicating and enriching their search for understanding is the unexpected entrance of a young boy, Lyn Blake, whom society has discarded and planted on their doorstep. As their three-way bond deepens, the truth seems more within reach, but it takes one final accelerating crisis to discover, and confront, what it really is. "PLACE, set in a post 9/11 America, is a thoughtful exploration of family connections both in the here and now, as well as across the veil of time and space. Very well written with a unique, matter-of-fact prose, this intriguing story may leave the reader rethinking their understanding of what can and cannot possibly happen. The back cover blurb...A wounded life in a fractured land, she keeps disappearing... does not begin to touch on the depth and complexity of this story. Definitely worth the read." - Donna Aviles, author, Beyond the Orphan Train

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2009

About the author

I've been writing steadily since college - novels, stories, plays, poetry, and teleplays (including several programs for PBS, HBO, and local TV). I also construct crossword puzzles for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other publications.

My first novel, THE VERY BAD THING, was published by Viking Penguin, sold modestly, earned some good reviews. Since then I've had several fine agencies representing new work, but ultimately (spring 2009) I chose to self publish three novels I've written over the last several years.

CALLING OUT YOUR NAME is an adventure story for young adults, set largely in the Deep South in the recent past: a rural Georgia teenager sets off on an improbable journey to find his developmentally disabled younger brother, who's apparently run away.

PLACE is adult literary fiction... about a woman who disappears, quite literally.

STRING THEORIES, to be republished in March 2016, is also adult literary fiction - a "physics love story" and adventuresome romp set in New Mexico.

BILLY BUCK is harder to described. Take a look at t.

All are available on Kindle, Amazon, and from me via ayPal (free shipping).

Reviews

[MickPro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a good book is like being told a story, hopefully, a wonderful story. Reading a really good book by a good friend is is hearing a wonderful story in his/her voice. It brings the story closer to you, you hear the voice of the author. You empathize all the easier. You want the back story, or you want to hold on to your thoughts of where reality meets fiction.
I got lucky and felt all of those things in reading this book. Treat.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I can guess why Ned White chose to self-publish this book, because I made the same decision on my short story collection: books that are difficult to categorize, that defy the publishing industry's narrow pigeonholes, are too difficult to get through the market-driven gauntlet. You want readers, you publish it yourself. This book is absolutely good enough to be traditionally published, and has much to recommend it to the mainstream, but it also takes risks that most commercial books don't take. It's a love story, a family story, a post-9-11 social commentary, and a scientific/spiritual philosophical exploration. Most of all, it's a human story, full of heart. It's not science fiction nor fantasy nor occult nor magical realism, yet it features a woman who periodically vanishes into thin air, then returns. Don't we all do that?

[Erin Knoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a review book for The Self-Publishing Review...my proper review is out there on the internet somewhere. I liked it. Definitely an oddball.