Is Morality a Luxury?
Scout’s Honor follows Eddie, whose perilous drug smuggling venture in Tijuana sparks his urgent quest for redemption amidst a life rife with crime and moral dilemmas. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It was this question that has nagged me for decades: Is morality a luxury? Is it only the well-off who can afford to do the right thing? And what happens to a decent young man when his whole world crumbles? And if he does break his moral compass, can he live with himself afterwards? Will his crimes still shadow him on the darkest nights?
Eddie Kawadsky is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I wanted to set a very good boy with a dazzling future into a petri dish of despair and see where that culture takes him. Eddie’s an Eagle Scout, a straight “A” student, good to his parents, liked and admired by his friends. Funny and quick-witted, Eddie’s talented, driven and ambitious—his sky is limitless. Then his sky falls. To evade capture and life imprisonment, Eddie has to bury his personality, become a man who speaks as if he’s breaking a vow of silence with his every word. He can never ask questions for fear of being asked himself. He must live in constant fear of being recognized. My fond hope is that readers will agree that Eddie develops slowly—organically— after the terrible night in Mexico, perhaps becoming the man he was meant to be.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Is virtue like an investment gone bad? That is, can it be walked away from with merely a sigh and a couple lasting regrets? Or, given a chance, will character prevail? Also, friendship and its healing power figures large in Scout’s. It seems to me that life can be as binary as a computer, a matter of ones and zeros. If you have just one good friend, you can be happy. With no one, you’re lost. And on a somewhat Catholic note, the redemptive powers of confession, atonement and absolution.
Also, perhaps on a more mundane level, I wanted to explore the world of illegal drugs, whether they really should be decriminalized, whether the war on drugs or drugs on every corner is the greater societal harm.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m halfway through a story about a man nearly destroyed by the death of his teenage son. Though they’re still living under the same roof, Thomas is estranged from his grieving wife Mac, his 16-year-old daughter Meghan won’t speak to him, his career is cratering, and he’s on that loneliest precipice, in danger of losing his humanity. Desperate for affection, Mac buys a puppy despite Thomas’s strenuous protests. He’s been afraid of dogs his whole life (for good reason, it turns out) and this puppy Daisy is a holy terror, as wild as her ancient forebears. The question will be whether Thomas recovers his family and his humanity through learning how to train and love Daisy.
The working title is The Dog Trainer. I write slowly. It’s likely to be several years before it’s published.
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It’s 1969. Devastated by the loss of his parents, 19-year-old Eddie Kawadsky is alone and penniless, his dream of becoming a navy pilot seemingly lost. In desperation, Eddie falls in with the charismatic Roy Cross who talks him into smuggling drugs across the border.
Once in Mexico, Roy betrays Eddie, setting him up to be murdered. On the run from vengeful narcotraficantes, corrupt cops, and his own demons, Eddie flees for his life, changes identities, and—as Richard Austen—joins the Marines, serves two heroic combat tours in Vietnam, and then hides himself in New York City. Over the ensuing 25 years, Eddie becomes one of Manhattan’s wealthiest real estate developers, but one haunted by his sins and secrets.
When a long-dreaded visitor finally shows up to extort hush money, Eddie is forced to confront his past. To save his own life and protect the beautiful wife he adores, he must sacrifice nearly everything. But will it be enough to redeem his honor lost so long ago?
With an intricate plot spanning the 1960’s counterculture, the Vietnam War, 1970’s gritty New York real estate world, the grandeur and hardship of the Marine Corps, and more, Scout’s Honor is a sweeping novel of suspense that explores larger themes of morality, guilt, trust, and redemption. Populated with flawed yet compelling characters, Scout’s Honor will appeal to fans of both character-driven literary fiction, thrillers, and redemption tales.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/05/02/is-morality-a-luxury/
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