Everything Is Beautiful In Its Own Way

by Mark Lind-Hanson

Jeana Montague is “in treatment.” She’s been caught “acting out” and being “a problem to her neighbors.” At Shadow Acres, rehabilitation is measured by one’s willingness to “get with the program.”
But Shadow Acres is staffed by an incongruous group of men (and women) out to prove to others that they have nothing but society’s best interest at heart. Who was it, someone- once said that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions?” But they have obviously never heard this, or if they have, they’ve surrendered to the least common denominator- the ability to show power by making others miserable.
Jeana makes some friends while at Shadow Acres, and tries to have a life of her own outside the supervised community as well (if she can). Ursula Bowers comes from a similar background, and both are about the same age, and they become fast friends. Harris, however, is an older man, who’s seen better times and has nearly given up on their ever returning to him. Between the two of them, they attempt to help Jeana recover her own sense of self and identity in a surrounding which is inimical in every way to its gratification.
The ultimate price Jeana must pay for her resistance to “the program” eventually comes to pass. Jeana Montague is definitely not alone in her plight- but getting to the end of things just isn’t, really, the end of things.

102 pages, ebook

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

I am a guitarist and composer as well as a writer. My sequel (separate from my coauthor Kevin Donohue's DeathCo, Mongoose Moon, & Waiting For Shiva) to Third Eye Patch is Bus Of Fools (Pub 8-18-13) Bus is intended to be general fiction, light humor & romance, while keeping a few characters from Patch.
The others (all written solo) are As I Was Telling You While Sleeping, a collection of short stories, a few of which make up a basis for Bus of Fools, Everything Is Beautiful In Its Own Way (a psycho-dramatic tragedy), and the Julian Plectrum series. set in medieval England:
If I Should Live So Long, Many Worlds Since I Left Home, and Oh What Will You Give Me; Fistfight at Judas Gulch is a Western humor fantasy which takes place in the California Gold Rush of 1850. Flight of the Oberon, is a "science fiction fairy tale,"
By the Waters of Oblivion, is set in ancient India at the time of Gautama Buddha, and concerns a young prince, exiled by his father for marrying a noncaste, but nonetheless due to inherit the kingdom someday. His wife is actually a reincarnated apsara, a musical deva with supernatural powers... And there are plenty of troubles yet ahead.
The latest one From A Starlit Shore is scifi, set on the planet of a faraway star, where people have no sense of any 'divine creation" and are free of the usual human trappings of 'embarrassment or sexual shame." On Ztam, Games are held each year which keep the population happy and well-sexed... it's a different place than you may imagine!
Finally, Pigpen's Black Forest Blues is a short story by my friend Kevin Donohue and myself which we came up over the holidays(21-22) in which the historic rock band's original "leader," mistaken for Jerry Garcia, is kidnapped by German Red terrorists during their 1972 tour of Europe. Will he even make it to Munich?
Historical fantasy, you might say...
All of these can be purchased at Smashwords.com in all ebook formats.
Samples (20%) are free! (As well as the entire Pigpen story)...