Kindle Edition
Amazon
Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Blairmont Publishing LLC
ISBN-10: 0996038639
Type: Fiction
Pages: 230
Copyright: March 19, 2015
ISBN-13: 9780996038638
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
Funny yet poignant take on life, death, Heaven, Hell...everything.
When Berry Driscoll arrives in Heaven, he, like all residents in the afterlife, receives a copy of a travel guide/advice book that he wants to share…with the living. With help from a love-struck World War II veteran, the book’s editor, a wondrous teleporting cat, and the Devil himself, Berry’s return to Earth sets off a firestorm of reactions with a unique cast of characters.
This sequel to Heaven, Inc. – A Helluva Novel combines mystery, adventure, romance, and fantasy while taking on pop culture, religion, politics, cats, and even golf with uncommon style and humor.
Excerpt
Berry looked over at the receptionist, who was sitting at her desk chewing gum and reading a magazine. She was a large woman. There was a small oak sign on the desk that had her name on it.
“So I’m really dead Sylvia,” Berry said more than asked.
“Yup. Bite the big one,” Sylvia replied without looking up.
“Get many of us through here?”
“Everyone.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Since 9:00 this morning.”
“No, I mean…”
“Oh. August 3rd, 1922. My husband and I had a little shop, laundry, in the Bronx. But it didn’t really help make ends meet, know what I mean? So he had a couple things going. Ran some numbers, hustled here, hustled there. Had a friend, Arnie Reynolds, who had his own friends. Boys who ran stuff down from Canada.”
“Booze?”
“Yeah, during Prohibition this was. They had the good stuff. Anyway, Arnie has to stash a bunch of cases for a few days and Lou, my husband, offers to put them up in our place. Except it was way more than just a few cases. We couldn’t keep them all there in the shop. Too many people in and out all the time. So we had them up in the apartment we had upstairs. Boxes everywhere. You couldn’t get from one room to another…”
“A sizable stash…”
“To say the least. So they’re up there for over a week. We’re walking over them and around them and guess what? No Arnie. Turns out he got popped in some city commissioner’s apartment while he and the commissioner’s wife were…”
“Entertaining each other?”
“Yeah. For days, apparently while the guy was supposed to be in Albany for some political convention. Caught a bug or something and went home early. So Lou and I figure Arnie’s gone, and we have all this booze…”
“Through no fault of your own…”
“Exactly. A regular nest egg, know what I mean? ”
“I do.”
“Except one day one of Arnie’s pals gets wise. Comes sniffing around.”
“Uninvited.”
“At 3 am. I hear something, get out of bed, grab one of the bottles off the dresser…”
“Just in case.”
“Anyway, long story short, he had a snub nosed :38. Never bring a bottle of scotch to a gun fight.”
“Good advice, Sylvia.”
“Mr. Miller’s the Human Resources Director. He’ll get you straightened away soon. Oh! I almost forgot.” She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a small book and handed it across the desk to Berry.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Everybody gets one.”
It was thin, somewhat smaller than a paperback but with a hard cover. It was beautifully bound in what appeared to be leather. The title was embossed with gold letters: “Maxwell’s Guide to Heaven and Hell.”
“Looks too small to be a guide to anything.”
“Don’t let the size fool you. You’ll be surprised how much info they pack into those little gems. It will no doubt come in handy.
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