Authorpreneur Dashboard – Michael Hewes
The Milk Wagon
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
A coming of age thriller about friendship, redemption, and how the ties made during high school can last a lifetime. For Matt Frazier, Jason "Hop" Hopkins, and Mark Ragone, 1986 was the year that changed everything, and it was the year that everything changed. It was the year Matt fell in love. It was the year Mark started a band. It was the year Hop actually almost, kind of, but not really got a girlfriend. And it was the year Nate Mayes disappeared. Matt, Hop and Mark have been friends since elementary school. They played ball together, they hung out together, and they somehow managed to work their way through the awkward years of junior high together. Now, they are finally starting to come into their own as they prepare to begin eleventh grade, but on the first day of school, a new kid named Nate Mayes arrives, and with him, a secret. Once the boys learn the horrifying truth, they take it upon themselves to try and make it right, and in so doing, set in motion a chain of events that have unexpected and life-altering consequences for everyone. The Milk Wagon was there through it all.
Book Bubbles from The Milk Wagon
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The Milk Wagon has been blessed with many reviews from around the globe. I have also had the pleasure of speaking at numerous book clubs across the country (live and Zoom). Two comments seem consistent: First, people like the scenes with the boys more than they like the murder mystery scenes, even though they recognize the latter is necessary to drive the narrative. Something about the dialogue, the interaction and the rapport between the four teenage boys brings readers back to kinder, gentler days. The other is the scene involving Matt and the bank tellers. It comes at a crucial point in the story where a lot is going on, and people tell me they felt like they were in the bank, and the tension and exchanges were real and palpable. For me, it was by far my favorite chapter to write - one of the few I was able to finish in one evening with very little editing by way of follow-up. I hope you enjoy this excerpt as much as I liked putting it to paper. Be good!
The Milk Wagon - It really did exist
The title of the book - The Milk Wagon - is a reference to the old beat up 1980 Suburban that the protagonist, high-schooler Matt Frazier, drives. It appears in all the big moments in the story and ends up playing a key role in the lives of these boys. I, too, drove an old Suburban back in high school and the Suburban on the book cover is a stylized picture of the original. And just like in the book, yes we loaded it up with people (29 was the most). Yes we drove it everywhere. Yes it had a ton of cosmetic and maintenance issues. And yes, it carries to this day several secrets. Almost every description of the vehicle in the book matches up to the real deal. Almost. I miss that old girl.
First day of high school, junior year, 1986.
High school was a special time for me. It was the 1980s, and we were surrounded by good music (Billy Idol, U2, Van Halen, The Cure), awesome clothes, and big hair. Most importantly, as our junior year began, me and my two best friends - Jeff and Ron - were finally coming into our own. Our high school class was as tight as any group I have ever seen. I knew even back then, that one day, I would have to memorialize the experience - the feel of it, the sound of it, the excitement of it - in a book. Here THE MILK WAGON opens on the first day of school, junior year. When a new student shows up, protagonist Matt Frazier and his best friends Hop and Mark don't quite know what to think. Once they befriend the kid, he leads them on a ride that incorporates elements of John Hughes and John Grisham, forever altering their lives in the most unexpected ways.
