I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to share my friend Fay Ellen Graetz’s debut novel with you since I first heard of it, and here it is!
She has cleverly called it Thumb Luck, and luck is the only thing you can hope for when two hippie girls set out hitchhiking from Wisconsin with their hearts set on California.
Mo and Chrystal are friends of sorts, but quite different. I love Mo’s remark on one of the first pages, “Chrystal’s good at making decisions. Not that they’re the right ones.â€
So off they go, these two girls, with their backpacks and all the confidence of youth, while the reader starts to search for the brakes! The girls are lucky, no doubt, but life happens.
Chrystal is focused on getting to Kevin Pusterski, an old crush, who is hosting a full moon fiesta he has called “Pusser’s Pisser,†in San Diego, while Mo just wants to be somewhere she’s never been before, and as far away from her predictable life in Wisconsin as possible.
In a time when the internet was just a dream and cellphones didn’t exist, the girls have their own methods of judging their risks, but in the long hours on the road and in truck-stops, unlikely friendships form with people in circumstances they would never have imagined.
Presented with an offer shrouded in secrecy and anonymity, the temptation is too much for Chrystal to resists, but neither Chrystal or Mo could foresee the havoc this propels them into, just as you won’t foresee the twists and turns that ends this book, because it will surprise you! I’m not telling you more….
This is a short novel, so it is a quick read, both dramatic and funny, and Fay is an excellent writer bringing each character to life in a way that you either want to hug them, or give them a good smack!
When I first met Fay it was at a group for playwrights that we now both belong to. She has several excellent plays to her credit, and is always working on another insightful and entertaining project. When not writing, Fay prefers to spend her time with her husband Ken, an artist, who has generously shared some of his drawings throughout THUMB LUCK.
THUMB LUCK can be purchased on Amazon.
Enjoy!
But remember, when you are sticking your thumb out, you are sticking your neck out too. Beware!
