Blood Father : A Novel Paperback - 2006

It's been three years since Lydia Carson ran away from her privileged home in West Los Angeles. By seventeen, she's involved with an older man who supplements his income with shady, mysterious activities. BLOOD FATHER covers the events and repercussions of one afternoon in Lydia's not-so-ordinary life. Lydia finds herself guarding the back door of a Topanga Canyon home during a shakedown. As violence erupts in the house, leading to several murders, Lydia herself becomes a target. She escapes down the creek and through the hillsides, and finds herself at the shore-alone, destitute, and frightened. Her last option is John Link, her blood father, who has just come off a long prison sentence for violent crimes of his own. An ex-biker and drug user, Link has now become a devout member of AA, a penitent man who scrapes together a meager but honest living out of a tattoo parlor on the edge of the desert. Link jumps at the chance to rescue his daughter, but after several days he realizes that her situation is far more dangerous and complicated than a mere drug habit. They're hounded by thugs looking for revenge, as well as police wanting to question Lydia as a witness and possible suspect. Link is forced to return to his former wild lifestyle in order to protect his daughter, finding old cronies and hideouts. But, even as he's drawn back into his past, Link is astonished to realize that his daughter's wild streak surpasses even his own. From Libertarian outposts to smoky biker bars, across the southeastern deserts of Southern California, a father and daughter begin to find each other during their escape. But, just as they do, the secrets from Link's past and the mistakes from Lydia's are growing and intersecting, and just might consume them both.

Waiting at the curb with two loaded shopping bags as her ride approached down Sherman Way, Lydia imagined herself in the shotgun seat of each passing car.