I'm currently seeking representation for my completed novel.
THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE follows the fathers and sons of a northern California family across sixty years, from San Jose's emergence as a center for Space Age innovation through the rise of high-tech Silicon Valley and into the near future. The novel braids together storylines from three generations, with each narrator struggling to break destructive cycles and confront the secrets that keep the family divided.
When a devastating earthquake strikes California a decade from now, Nathaniel reluctantly returns to San Jose with the relief effort. Although counseling quake survivors should be his top priority, he is more concerned with concealing the drug addiction that has left his own life in ruins. As aftershocks rattle his parents' home, Nathaniel begins to suspect he's not the only one troubled by dark secrets.
In the mid-1990s, Howie is a programmer determined to stay far away from his native Silicon Valley and the father who always ignored him, but he's drawn back after falling in love. When Nathaniel is born, Howie vows to provide everything his own childhood lacked. After Howie fails Nathaniel more seriously than he could have imagined, he is convinced the only solution is to ensure nobody ever finds out what he did wrong.
Early in the 1960s, Douglas is a young engineer seeking a brighter future for his family out west, where he hopes a clean start will help him avoid further infidelity. When Howie is born, Douglas vows to stop cheating once and for all so he can become the devoted father and husband he always wanted to be. After he fails yet again, Douglas comes to learn the true consequences of all his years of lying.
