About me: For twenty-plus years, I have been involved in helping others achieve their writing potential and am constantly expanding my own creative horizon. I am a certified Secondary English teacher and have served as a collegiate Composition and Creative Writing Instructor for ten years as well.
So, what about the book, Split-level?
The debate states that either art imitates life or life imitates art; but at this point in time, it has become hard to differentiate between both intertwined perspectives. As Split-level unravels, a blurry picture is painted of Jack Stream’s character getting lost somewhere in the middle.
Monsters and ghosts do not need to be conjured up in the mind of an author. Humans are grotesque enough. They are the monsters. They are the sounds in the woods, the howls in your closets, and the beasts under your beds. There is no need to exert unnecessary energy making up fictional apparitions when they seem to be living right amongst us.
The conceptual idea, framed by the recent foreclosure crisis, with all of its misery and dislocation for millions of Americans in 2009, served as the focus to begin this series. What would happen if someone bought a foreclosed home in an unfamiliar location and the previous owner was angry enough to commit unspeakable crimes in retaliation? Additionally, how far can one person take squatter’s rights?
At the core of Split-level lies another allegory, loosely based on the beloved children’s story – City Mouse and Country Mouse. Is it possible to escape crime just by moving away from the city, or are people just as (if not more) susceptible to it no matter where they sprawl?
This escapism, coinciding with the ever-battling conflict of good verses evil plays out in Split-level, the first postmodern suspense/thriller in the series written by Ray Lebert.
Softcover copies of Split-level can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Split-level-Ray-Lebert-III/dp/1508638004
I can’t wait to tell Jack Stream that you liked it!
Ray Lebert
Ray Lebert 