The Long Road

Many families have a prodigal child who must take the long road to maturity.  Ryder is that child.  He and his older brother Bobby are growing up on a Midwest ranch where his dad has been trying to do everything since his wife died a few years ago. Since then, Ryder has begun acting out and misbehaving. His Dad, Mike, is under stress trying to raise two boys and run his cattle ranch on his own. He has difficulty connecting with Ryder as he is more artistic, like his mother, who had been the buffer between the two.  

Ryder moves to California with his aunt to be among his ‘own kind.’ Against his Dad’s better judgment, he gives Ryder the freedom to go. Ryder’s strong spiritual upbringing holds him together for a while in California but collapses shortly after that, as too many natural desires call his name. Ryder is on the Long Road to maturity.

Co-Written with Earl Casas. 36 Chapters, 100K words, teens and up. Thomas Nelson Publishing, Fall of 2023.