ONE LEFT INSIDE THE WELL

In the town of Bodie, nestled in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Jonathan Heffron, Martin Dougherty and Diego Velarde settle into the rhythm of another harvest.  Passing from the dreamful ambitions of youth to accept fates inherited from family histories woven into the fabric of the town, it appears nothing can shake the foundation of their lives.

Suddenly, forces building since the towns founding overtake them, leaving each at a crossroads.  Jonathan must accept life in a new America or drown with the vanishing lifestyle of the family farm.  Diego has to reconcile conflicting cultures as the son of Mexican immigrants who is also a native born American.  Martin can either follow the road paved by his legendary family, or muster the courage to blaze his own trail.  These journeys are set against a backdrop of town losing its identity to a mainstream that’s both enticing and frightening.

Using vignettes of historical fiction to give depth to a part of America unknown to most, and employing a plot driven by passionate love affairs, disappearances, and strange deaths, One Left Inside the Well looks at the events that make broken people beautiful.

The author of this novel was raised on a family farm, and for him that meant finding entertainment where one could.  This has led to his interest in people damaged by failure, so while this novel contains action with a clearly established plot, the real story lies not in the events, but in how each character weathers the storm without losing themselves in the process.

Paperback: 316 pages
Publishing date: January 28, 2019
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1-949180-86-7
ISBN-13: 978-1-949180-86-2
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

Growing up in California's San Joaquin Valley, Skyler Nielsen began writing fiction after the farm went under in 2003.  He moved to the Santa Cruz, CA in 2005 before relocating to Southern California to work at his alma mater as landscape supervisor.  He graduated from the University of California Riverside with a BA in History in 2003 and his work has appeared in Adelaide Literary Magazine, Main Street Rag, the Literary Nest, Crack the Spine and Oddball Magazine.  One Left Inside the Well is his first novel.