A high-speed car chase in the dead of night, a love triangle, drug dealers gone wild, a vengeful cousin, and a disembodied soul looking for retribution . . . Will there be devotion or betrayal? A descent into darkness or ascension to enlightenment? A rebirth or painful death? Or all of the above? Funny things are happening in the Lowcountry this summer, but they're nothing to laugh at: Sticker, a mild mannered yet rugged middle-aged man is trying to make sense of a life filled with pain and abuse. Candy, his beautiful yet bitchy neighbor, has her hands full trying to raise her nine-year-old daughter by herself. And Tom, Candy's second ex-husband and Sticker's cousin, is dealing drugs with the help of the local sheriff. Then the night before the biggest drug deal the South has ever seen is set to happen, Tom is caught doing something a lot more heinous than dealing drugs-setting off a whirlwind of events that become, at once, a struggle for survival and a hopeful retribution of Candy's and Sticker's battered and shattered lives. The secrets buried in the swamps generations ago may save them-and you-but only if they are believed. It's a clear summer's night. It's hot. It's sweaty. And they're all alone. And those secrets of the past are starting to bubble up out of the swamps. Decisions must be made and made swiftly. But if the choices are wrong? Well, the swamps have a funny way of concealing not just the past, but the dead . . . and the dying. The secrets in the swamps are calling. . . Down in the Lowcountry. Can you handle them? "Lowcountry Rising will be an instant classic. It's a suspenseful, psychological drama that left me deeply moved, deeply satisfied, and yet still wanting more -- a book readers will not want to put down. This novel has something for lovers of every genre: romance, action, literature, crime, and mystery. A must-read for anyone not afraid to examine themselves and the world." Anthony Willis, M.A., University of Akron
About the Author: Samuel Othello Barlow was born in the mountains of South Carolina in 1966. He endured a tumultuous childhood and adolescence there, but found the courage to leave just before his 20th birthday. After an eventful several years of "living on the edge in just about every way imaginable," he finally ended up in a place the total antithesis of the mountains-the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Although he never attended college, he's studied a myriad of subjects such as calculus, physics, astronomy, athletics, music, survival, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, psychology, nutrition, yoga, karate, and economics. Among other ways of earning a living, he's worked as a painter, construction worker, lab assistant, office manager, printer, and pizza delivery boy. He's worked on fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico and dug his own outhouse while living in a shack in the mountains. His eclectic experiences give him unique and thought provoking opinions on history, humanity, science, and life in general. He wrote Lowcountry Rising over the course of a year and a half while working as a prison guard in a Federal prison. He commented, "You learn that there are criminals who deserve to be there, men who are innocent but were set up to be there, and that turning a profit is more important than serving justice." Lowcountry Rising is Mr. Barlow's debut novel, and he's currently working on the next book in the upcoming trilogy titled Upcountry Crossing. Its date of release is scheduled for the fall of 2015, but that is uncertain because Mr. Barlow says he'll finish it, "When I darn well feel like it." Please check the website for updates. www.lowcountryrising.com,