Sandbaggin'

Acclaimed novelist Shawn Denson, author of Home Is Where the Hell Is and Breaking into Alcatraz, would like to take a moment to deviate from his usual stories of darkness, murder, and horror, and instead invite you to indulge in a sample of his lighter fare. But that doesn't mean that this tale is all sunshine, glitter, and rainbows. Glaspell's is just another restaurant chain, one among many, and it has a store located on the outskirts of a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. But, working inside its walls, there are people. Real people. Real people with their own obstacles, loves, hates, worries, problems, and triumphs. The employees of Glaspell's, which is known affectionately by a crude nickname among the staff, are just the best versions of the people that they can be-they all have their own struggles, battles that must be fought, and subsequent victories and defeats. And they are not the least bit shy in telling each other about the very real endeavor, often with language that would make athletes in a locker room widen their eyes in astonishment-with their heads shaking back and forth, in amazement at the sheer crudity of the words being said. At the center of the storm of this daily routine are the head chef, Steve, and the head server, Claire. Both of their lives take dramatic turns at the start of the day, which will culminate with a conclusion that anyone who has worked in a restaurant would say is natural. What happens might be seen as shocking by others, those that have never lived the lifestyle of a restaurant worker. It should be proscribed, but in the business where they make their living anything is possible. Sandwiched in this astounding twist of events are enough laughs, tears, jokes, and insults to leave anyone shaking their head in bewilderment. There are betrayals, justifications, affliction, and triumph; with all of it told in such a way that will blow the mind of the reader, you won't be able to help yourself when you laugh, even as yo