Fourteen-year-old Oklahoma farm boy Jacob Brewster and his family struggle to survive the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. One day, with their panhandle sky darkened by clouds of dust, and the ground parched and lifeless beneath their feet, Jacob and his younger brother Daniel yield to the temptation of confronting one of the dust devils that tauntingly roam the barren fields of their farm. In the heat of the battle, Jacob suddenly discovers that he has the strength and courage to stand toe-to-toe with his whirling adversary. But he would never, in his wildest dreams, imagine how severely his strength and courage would be tested by family tragedy, a war, and the conquest of an inherited personal demon that lived deep within his soul. "Put a Nickel on the Drum" is a poignant, moving, adventure-filled story that will keep you riveted to the pages. It's a love story on many levels, at a time in history when love took a back-seat to the fundamental objective of survival...an era that left little time or capacity in one's heart for seeking, or finding, emotional fulfillment in a loving bond with another. Simply existing and providing for one's family was the paramount goal of the time. In many cases there were those, in an effort to compensation for the hardships of the period, turned to artificial means to find peace and solace. Many times, the paths they took could have easily lead them down a path of self-destruction, and for all too many, it did. But then there were others who were committed to stand in the way of that happening. In many ways, "Put a Nickel on the Drum" is a story about those who wandered away from the path, and about those that helped bring them back again.
About the Author: Robert N. Story is a native mid-westerner. He was a late-bloomer, beginning his journey onto the creative avenue of fictional literature quite late in life. Although he was a published author of numerous magazine articles, mostly on the subject of recreational boating safety, he'd been constantly encouraged to use his easy, flowing writing voice on more extensive projects. After turning 70, he relented, and wrote his autobiography, "The Frosting on My Cake," with limited distribution to family and friends. He followed that with his first fictional novel, "KABA 1330," set in the '50's, and in 2012, a much darker "The Night Poet." "In preparing to write "Nickel," I put many hours into researching the 1930's and the cultural turmoil that was sucking the life out of people living in that era. Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that I was living it. The characters emerged as real people to me, and in some cases I found myself trying to protect them from what I was writing about them! I've gotten close to my characters before, (except for Victor Szabo in 'Night Poet'...I never really got to know him well). But Jacob Brewster and his family, and the other characters in this book, are people I feel I really know. And I think I'm better off for it." In keeping with his zest for diversity in his writing, the author's newest project is a farce of ridiculous proportions, as yet untitled. A long-time fan of Monty Python, he's taken to the word processor with a flair for the Python silliness, embedding a murder mystery within the idiocy. "I sit at the keyboard with fingers flying, my mind thinking in a British accent, seeing John Cleese and Michael Palin fumbling around and speaking in a dialogue which causes me to pause occasionally and laugh out loud. It is the most fun I've had so far, and a major departure from the way I usually veer off into darkness. Now, all I have to do is find a reader or two who appreciates silliness, and I will have succeeded with the project as well." Story's objectives in writing fiction have always been to provide readers with an experience that causes them to meet, and love, and appreciate characters they've never met, but can only imagine meeting. "I want them to put faces to them, and voices, and personalities, and then decide why they're so important to the story. If I accomplish that, then I'm happy."