On the Beach by Steve Schmale


I got completely involved with this story; I just couldn't figure out where it was going and couldn't put it down. It was well written and a good story.

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.