Dave Matthes

Paradise City Dave Matthes

It's the last weekend of the summer for Arlo Smith. During a simple act of innocence, Arlo and his best friend James witness a crime against the human soul. While James seems cursed by it, Arlo on the other hand doesn't react nearly the same, and instead takes another breath, and lets the summer take its course. For Arlo Smith, High School starts off with a train wreck, and continues to escalate through the woes and tribulations of every typical, average teenager caught in the maelstrom of "growing up". Friends come and go, some stick close. Among the mentally-enslaved teachers, a few stick out to help him along his journey. And Beth Jensen, the high school guidance counselor, teaches him in ways both metaphorically and directly the meaning of love, attraction, and temptation. But while Arlo is seeing through his eyes the passing of each day, James has allowed that last day of summer to define him, and to plant a seed which begins to spread roots of rot. The day will come when brothers will have to confront themselves, and make the only decision that can be made. When "no going back" becomes more than just a whisper of adventure, the dice will be rolled, and no one will be able to escape the ensuing consequences. Book 2 in "The Mire Man Trilogy", "Paradise City", tells the origin of Arlo Smith, and illustrates the first steps on his journey toward becoming the seemingly soulless nothing he is in "Bar Nights". It is a story that narrates what it's like to grow up against the grit and torment of youth while under the vengeful weight of inevitability masquerading beneath the guise of well-intentioned promises... and the price of what true friendship can sometimes require.