➑ Paperback & Kindle Unlimited eBOOK ➑ #FREE EXCERPTS on No Fixed Truth #Substack by STEVE SCHMALE πŸ–οΈOn The Beach https://steveschmale.substack.com/

"Schmale skillfully portrays the atmosphere of a sleepy beach town with its barflies,surfers and tourists"

πŸ–οΈShort pieces of Literary Fiction πŸ–οΈ Humorous Dark Comedy πŸ–οΈ American Humorous Fiction πŸ–οΈ Humorous Literary Fiction

Twenty-something Lenny Decker is a man of few plans, and he seems to like it that way. Bumming around a sleepy California beach town, Lenny appears to live a life of Zen-like slacker simplicity. His days and nights are a seemingly endless loop of visits to the local bar and pick-up basketball games, punctuated by long stretches in his apartment with only a twelve pack, a bong, and a TV of questionable quality for company.

But Lenny has a thing or two to deal with: a near brush with success in his past has left him running for the comfort of a life where the stakes aren't just low, they're non-existent. Then there's the woman who sees past Lenny's stoned exterior and is challenging him in ways he hasn't been tested in years.

Will Lenny rise to the occasion, or will he keep flipping the channel?

Set against the backdrop of the lazy California coast, populated with a cast of unforgettable characters, and replete with examples of some of life's crueler--yet hilarious--ironies, On the Beach is a compelling story of what happens when one young man's dreams bump up against his reality.

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