The Vicar Vortex

Book excerpt: WINNER — SUNSHINE COAST WRITERS AND EDITORS SOCIETY BOOK AWARD, HUMOUR Tony Vicar is wrestling against the ordinary patterns his life has fallen into, until dark secrets and a dangerous woman from the past threaten to upend it all. After the devastating fire that nearly destroyed his hotel and pub, Tony Vicar has rebuilt both Hotel Valentine and The Vicar’s Knickers once again. But the glamour of being a barman has lost some of its lustre and the responsibility is incessant. Even a couple of famous television mediums determined to uncover the truth about the hotel’s mysterious ghost can’t seem to stir Vicar from the unwelcome state of “normality” his life has settled into. But life in Tyee Lagoon has a way of veering away from normal, as proven when femme fatale Serena, unexpectedly freed of criminal charges, returns to town to steal back baby Frankie — who she abandoned on Vicar’s doorstep two years before — and hopefully ensnare Tony in the process. Serena hits a new high in outrageous and dangerous behaviour, allowing no one, especially not Tony’s girlfriend Jacquie O, to get in her way. On the defensive, Vicar tries to protect his little family, while simultaneously attempting to stop the endless circles of his life and learn lessons about authenticity, caring, and the surprising power of his effect on others ... including his mother-in-law.