Gathered by the Fire

About the Book

A fi re destroys an amusement park and leaves a landscape for a seemingly ill-matched set of characters to negotiate. The newspaper reporter fi nds new life for a story he had been forced to abandon twenty years earlier. The prostitute seeks to reunite with a son she gave up for adoption. The land developer bulldozes over anyone in his path as he restructures a small town into a sprawling suburb. The respected attorney and philanthropist strays from his moral compass to see through his visions for a community. As they grow up in the 60's and 70's, the children of Raven Street forge friendships steeped in the small-town values of a Detroit suburb. From days of playing King of the Hill, through the trials of adolescence, they live their lives oblivious to the chain of events that set their stage. Their stories of youthful folly, fi rst loves, and teenage angst form the lyrics for the songs written in their garage-band world, a world about to collide with realities not of their making. Where is the crossroad that links that past and the present, the old and the young? How bad will the collision be when they have an inferno in common? Gathered by the Fire is a trip down memory lane for the Baby Boomer Generation and a coming-of-age, what-if story that scuff s the veneer of Anytown, USA.

About the Author

Mark Mijuskovic grew up in a blue collar, small town just north of Detroit, Michigan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and masters’ degrees in counseling and educational leadership, which led him into the field of education where he worked as both a teacher and eventual high school principal. A retired empty-nester, he currently resides in Central Florida with his former-principal wife of 39 years.

His debut novel, Where the Tracks Go: A Principal’s Story, received finalist designation in the 2017 National Indie Excellence Awards competition.