Comic Relief for Troubled Times

McLean, VA, September 21, 2017—In Patchworks, the humorous new novel from McLean resident Ben East, patriotic grad student Gabriel Dunne tracks gun violence in America. His Federal Studies internship teaches Gabriel—and Patchworks readers—enough to keep them laughing ‘til they cry. Join Gabe as he helps plan his boss’s wedding, ducks Hubbard’s security investigation into expired passwords, and twists in the wind during the threat of a government shutdown. When a colleague is victimized by just the kind of violence their office exists to prevent, this frazzled bunch must fight back, or become statistics in America’s next mad shooting spree.

“Not long after the Sandyhook shooting in Connecticut my kindergarten-age son told me about a drill at school,” East says. “I felt a chill as he described huddling quietly in back of the room while the teacher pulled the shade on the door. The frightened faces of Sandyhook victims running across the parking lot became for me the face of us all. Patchworks isn’t a solution to the threat of gun violence unique to America. But it begs our leaders to stop ignoring the problem.”

Author and diplomat B.A. East published his first novel, Two Pumps for the Body Man as a Bush-Cheney era black comedy. Originally from Connecticut, diplomatic assignments have taken him to Mexico, Ghana, Nicaragua, and Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining the State Department’s Foreign Service he taught high school in New York and overseas. Mr. East posts black humor at www.BenEastBooks.com.

In Patchworks, government intern Gabriel Dunne narrates a period of turmoil for federal workers. Assigned to Washington’s Bureau of Government Intelligence and Execution (BOGIE) to monitor government waste, Gabe’s got a broad view of how the country is run and a close-up of the people who run it. From analyst Manny Teague who can’t stop talking about his kids to Director Ralph Dvorak who aims to shut Teague up, from Chloe Gilchrist planning her wedding to the predatory Harcourt bracing for divorce, Gabe’s co-workers are models of humanity amid bureaucratic dysfunction. As Congress threatens to send government workers home without pay and a colleague falls victim to yet another mass shooting, Gabe finds himself under investigation for expired passwords and his role in a federal bowling league gambling ring. Can he leverage his relationship with Security Chief Hubbard to take down the NRA and its K St. lobby, or will he become the next target when Teague goes after the real enemies of the state?

For review copies or interviews contact the author: chambepeak@gmail.com www.beneastbooks.com

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