“The Mighty Thor” is what Mitch calls Alexander (Sandy) Schneider, the cook in A DEAD GUY AT THE SUMMERHOUSE, a paranormal suspense novel set in 1968. In this excerpt, Mitch begins his friendship with Dr. Andrew Walton, the son of the house.
The Mighty Thor’s Button
excerpt from A DEAD GUY AT THE SUMMERHOUSE
by Marian Allen
We reached the bottom of the stairs and Dr. Andrew opened a door. “Sandy?”
The Mighty Thor got up from a square wooden table I’d missed on my first visit. “There you are,” he said. “I was beginning to think they drug you in on that stuff I give ’em in the sitting room.”
“I brought Mitch. Do you have enough?”
“I was expecting him.”
Sandy plonked down a fistful of thick mugs and a plate of ham sandwiches layered with Swiss cheese, lettuce, dill pickles, and mustard.
“It ain’t a san’wich without the crust,” Sandy observed, pouring us each a mug of coffee. “I’m gonna have that put on one o’ them little buttons everybody’s wearing these days.”
I had some of those buttons: Question Authority, What if They Gave a War and Nobody Came? The usual. It Ain’t a San’wich Without the Crust would probably be popular. The coffeehouse groovesters could spend hours explaining its deeper meaning to each other.
Dr. Andrew, still standing, transferred a sandwich to a plate.
“Aw,” Sandy said, “stick around for a change. Sit down and keep us company.” He jogged me with his elbow. “Tell ‘im, Mitch.”
“Sure,” I said, hoping I sounded more enthusiastic than I felt.
“He’s afraid his particles are gonna get too excited without him,” Sandy said to me with an exaggerated wink. “He’s afraid they’ll come swooping up here and take the joint apart.”
Dr. Andrew smiled, his face sweetening as it had when he’d smiled at Aunt Missy.
“C’mon, Doc, nobody’s gonna catch you unwound. And if they do, what of it?” He jogged me again.
“What of it?” I repeated.
“Well, I will, then.”
Dr. Andrew sat down and bit into his sandwich shyly — you know, like the class geek when you invite him to sit with you in the cafeteria.
~*~
Just in case you should want to buy a copy of the book, it’s available in print from independent bookstores through IndieBound and from Amazon in print and for Kindle. The audiobook will be out Real Soon Now. You can also read the first chapter on my Dead Guy page.
Indiebound http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781942166085
Amazon http://bookshow.me/1942166087
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What’s your main character’s favorite sandwich? If your character is a vampire, Jane, what was her favorite sandwich when she was alive?
MA
Jane
January 24, 2016 at 8:32amWell, it wasn’t those icky cucumber, dry crustless bread finger food “sammies” they served her at Almack’s. Not a challenge at all to pretend a ladylike disinterest in food consumption.
Marian Allen
January 24, 2016 at 2:26pmSee? The hostesses were only trying to HELP.
Alana
January 24, 2016 at 6:42pmI would have been happy with those sandwiches. And, I’ve always loved bread crust. Even when I was young.
Marian Allen
January 25, 2016 at 8:32amI didn’t like bread crust of commercial bread and I still don’t, although I eat it. It tastes bitter to me. I always eat all around the edge of a sandwich or piece of toast, to eat the crust off so I can enjoy the good part. People laugh. Let ’em, say I! On the other hand, I love the crust of good bread, especially home-made bread. Yum!