The Beauty of Sadness: a Novella

Jake Barnes is a seasonal wildland fire fighter, an avid reader, and a lover of old, simple things. He also lives in the only apartment with a balcony on Main Street. One day in the high summer, with his balcony doors open and an old jazz record playing, he hears a shriek from the street below. As he comes to the aid of four-year-old Nico, Jake meets the boy's mother, Chase. What follows is a star-crossed love story that seems doomed to end before it even really begins, until a near-death experience while working a fire in Canada draws into question some of Jake's long-held priorities and desires. This is a story of good chemistry and bad timing; of friendships that help us see what we are unable to see for ourselves; and of the quiet persistence of love against all odds. Concise, yet breathtakingly vivid, this short novel packs adventure, grief, loss, and beauty into a tale you won't soon forget.