Pastor Sheldon Long was born of the woods, raised in a secluded cabin by a mute mother and an abusive father who preached God's vengeance. Forced to take control of his own destiny, Pastor Long found God in his own way, melded with the mythologies of his mother's tribe. Now he's out to send the wicked, as he has judged them, to heaven.
Steven, Pastor Long's son, is simultaneously pining for his former babysitter who has moved to Hollywood and crushing on nearly every girl he goes to school with. Soon his preoccupation with the opposite sex lures him into investigating a string of drownings that local police are declaring accidents.
Ryan W. Bradley's novella Winterswim weaves religiosity and mythology into a tale of drugs, sex, and murder set against the frozen backdrop of blue-collar Alaska.
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“Anyone who’s spent time in the world of independent
publishing knows that Ryan W. Bradley is a true believer in the power of
literature, so it’s fascinating to see what happens when he turns his attention
to a believer of a different sort. Bradley’s novella about a meth-addled
preacher and his teenage son manages to be fast-paced without sacrificing
complexity, moral but not moralistic, and thrilling without a hint of
pandering. I read Winterswim in a single sitting on a summer evening in
Chicago, but it feels like I just survived a harsh Alaska winter.”
—
Christian TeBordo, author of The Awful Possibilities