On a steel beam high above the tallest skyscraper in New York City, Mickey sat naked and shivering. The presence of night or day couldn’t be told high up on the beam. A permanent light, shined like a car’s high beam on a deer crossing the road. Mickey looked down on the ant farm that was New York City.
“What are you doing up here, dumb nuts?” Tom wore a lumberjack shirt, hardhat, blue denim jeans and a tool belt. There weren’t any tools on the belt just dismembered body parts. Tom walked the beam and sat facing Mickey, his short legs on either side of the beam. Mickey faced the sky or the light; he wasn’t sure which it was. Tom didn’t mind him being naked. “Where’s my clothes?” Tom twisted the top off a Thermos cup, poured a shot.
“Drink some.” The drink instantly warmed Mickey up and made him unashamed of his nakedness. “Good coffee,” Mickey said. “That wasn’t coffee. It’s coffee. Nothing gets you up like the taste of blood and you need some getting up,” Tom said.
Excerpt:
“Where are we Tom? Am I dead?” Mickey asked.
“This is where you go when life wants a divorce and you’re dodging the clerk serving the divorce papers. You’re not dead, Mickey. I am.” Tom said, swinging his legs off the beam.
“You’re not fully committed, those people over there are dead. On a billboard’s steel railing thirty yards away, Big Mickey and Rita slow-danced to a lover’s tune. ” The billboard advertised State Farm life insurance, a coincidence?
“That’s my mom,” Mickey said.
“Your father too. They get on that billboard every night and dance together. Every night for eternity,” Tom said. “It’s time you wake up. You’ve slept long enough.”
“How long?” Mickey asked.
“So long, I’m sick of watching over your ugly mug.”
“If I go, who’s going to keep you company?” Big Mickey dipped Rita, spun her, and pulled her in close.
“I’ve got Gwendolyn.” She appeared on one end of the beam in a floral dress. Tom stood up. “I’m fine, numb nuts. So wake the fuck up.”
Mickey woke up in a hospital with a tube down his throat. He moved one arm and machines sounded. A female nurse rushed inside his room and crossed her heart three times. Mickey couldn’t understand what she said, something about God, then Spanish, and then more God. She began disconnecting him from the machines. More people entered the hospital room. Mickey’s heart pumped faster, the machines he was attached to verified it. An Asian woman stiff-armed the nurse for a bed-side position. Then, she showed her badge. She spoke and Mickey understood.
“Mickey Thomas Tansy Jr., you’re under arrest for trafficking cocaine.”
I grew up in Harlem, NYC. My mother worked hard to support her four children. My father was a big time drug dealer in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem. I would describe myself as a good kid, I went to school and got good grades. By the time I graduated from junior high I was already introduced to the street life. At age 15 I was busted with a loaded pistol and sent to juvenile detention. This started a cycle in my life, a cycle of crime and jail become a revolving door. Over the next few years I was busted for selling weed, crack cocaine, and possession of a loaded pistol. The latter led to me serving 4 ½ years in state prison.
While in prison I decided to try my hand at writing and so I began to write my first novel I named “Too Far in The Dark”. Most of the details in the novel comes from my personal experience of living life on the streets. I discovered my passion for writing plowing through this manuscript , which led to me writing six more novels.
Get to Know the Author Anthony Huger:
How long did it take you to write “Too Far in The Dark”?
took 2 years to write my first novel because as I was coming to the end, I lost the first sixteen chapters. I had to write the chapters over because a cruel correctional officer decided to throw the chapters in the trash.
Who were early influences on your writing?
I would definitely have to say Walter Mosley. I loved to read Andrew Vachs, Vince Flynn, K’wan and Mario Puzo.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my second novel titled “Sly Fox” . It’s kind of a spin off from Too Far in The Dark.
What character from “Too Far in the Dark” do you identify with the most and why?
I would have to say I identify with Charles Freeman the most. I understand his fight to want to escape a bad neighborhood surrounding by the worst of society. He had to possess drive and discipline to overcome his circumstances. I think he tried his best to to this without compromising his morals.
What made you want to become a writer?
It wasn’t any specific thing. I just had a movie reeling in my mind. I saw it so vivid that it made me want to write it down on paper. That’s exactly how I began writing Too Far in The Dark.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
It was nothing in particular a reader might not connect with the book like another reader will. I feel everybody is entitled to their opinion and everybody isn’t going to like my books.
Did you design the cover to Too Far in The Dark?
Yes I did. I wanted the cover to be apart of the story. That’s why u see the Lucky Charm Bar on the cover and also the Sour Boyz gold plaque underneath the Porsche Mickey was shot in.
Where to Find the Author and the Book:
Facebook: Anthony Huger
Instagram: Zalinopublishing
Website: www.Zalinopublishing.com
Email addresses: [email protected] [email protected]
Purchase link on website: www.Zalinopublishing.com