A Man Must Grapple with the Death of His First Love at the Hands of a Mass Shooting

HARRISBURG, Pa. - March 23, 2021 - PRLog -- Set to release June 15, Richard Fellinger's "Summer of '85" is a literary novel centered around the painful issue of gun violence in the United States.

"Summer of '85" examines the pain of losing one's first love through the lens of a man who has learned his first love was a victim of a shooting. Partially set at the Jersey Shore, "Summer of '85" moves through time, telling a coming-of-age story and exploring the nostalgia of summers spent at the beach. Fellinger says, "This book involves a serious social issue, but it's primarily a human story—one of many human stories worth telling after one of these unspeakable tragedies."

This is the story of a mass shooting and an old summer love. Winner of the Seven Hills Review Novel Excerpt Contest, Summer of '85 is part coming-of-age story, part mid-life crisis story, and a timely tale for our era. In the summer of 1985 at the Jersey Shore, Cara Cassaday was Dan Fehr's first love. Since then, Dan has endured a series of mismatched relationships and unfulfilled dreams. Now his second marriage is in trouble and he's stuck writing for a mid-size newspaper in a small city. When he learns that Cara is among the victims of a gun massacre in a Philly hoagie shop, it triggers a chain of emotionally charged reactions as he confronts the realization of a lost love and a life lost—Cara was The One. This is an intimate look at the long arm of tragedy, unfulfilled promise, and the tensions of our times.

About the Author
Richard Fellinger is an award-winning author, former journalist, and college writing instructor. He's the author of the novel Made to Break Your Heart and the story collection They Hover Over Us, winner of the Serena McDonald Kennedy Award. He's also a Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of the 2008 Flash Fiction Contest at Red Cedar Review. He teaches at Elizabethtown College and lives with his wife and son in Harrisburg, PA.

About the Publisher
TouchPoint Press is a traditional publisher of fiction and nonfiction. Our staff is comprised of professionals whose collective experience in publishing, editing, journalism, design, and marketing set the stage behind our growing list of published titles. We are proud to work with talented authors and strive to be as innovative and energetic as possible from acquisitions to promotion before and after publication.