False Paradise

Fool's Paradise is a blend of real events; fiction; fantasy; mystery and incredible adventures that tells the life story of Bobby Ferguson aka: Bobby McAllister, from early childhood and a near-death experience that delusionally introduces him to a spectral pirate who tells him about the mythical treasure ship, "The Prize."As if one ghost in his life is not enough, a teenage McAllister meets an apparitional woman who not only re-enforces his belief in the existence of The Prize but; convinces him of his destiny to locate the mysterious ship.Working for a corrupted politician; a stint as a producer for a television station, his chance meeting of an established and world-famous treasure hunter, and even a stretch in an Arizona prison, all combine to put him out to sea in search of The Hacha del Oro, a documented treasure ship that went down in a mighty hurricane off the coast of the Florida Keys over 250 years ago. In spite of all the adversity involved, McAllister's experience on the Hacha Project proves to be successful and he confides to Granger Lawton, his true quest is "The Prize," a treasure he fully expects the reluctant and leery Lawton to help him find. Determined to act as McAllister's Devils' advocate, Lawton agrees to help in the search of The Prize. Their investigation takes them to Seville, Spain, the home of the Archives of the Indies, and perhaps, wherein lays the answers to the unsolved two-hundred and fifty-year old mystery. While touring the Spanish countryside, McAllister comes across a dusty and deserted old mansion that contains one-hundred year old evidence of the identity of the haunting apparition that has been McAllister's obsession since his teen-age years. The portrait of a beautiful woman distracts his pursuit of The Prize and sends him on what Lawton characterized as a "wild-goose-chase" up the Oronoco River in Venezuela.On a regal, yet struggling cattle ranch outside Ciudad, Bolivar, a gentleman rancher, whose daughter steals McAllister's heart, entertains McAllister, and Lawton. It is Lawton who stumbles on evidence of not only the existence of the The Prize, but its actual location. It takes McAllister, however, to finally locate the cargo she carried by carefully piecing together all of the clues, evidence, cryptic conditions of the island priestess, and even the phantoms of his past to lead him to the treasure...

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Philistines at the Hedgerow comes a remarkably revealing profile of the Miami Beach no one knows–a tale of fabulous excess, thwarted power, and rekindled lives that will take its place among the decade’s best works of social portraiture. Created from a mix of swampland and dredged-up barrier reef, Miami Beach has always been one part drifter-mecca and one part fantasyland, simultaneously a catch basin for con men, fast-talk artists, and shameless self-promoters, and a Shangri-La for sun worshippers and hardcore hedonists. In Miami Beach it’s often said that "if you’re not indicted you’re not invited." But the city’s mad, fascinating complexity resists easy stereotyping. Fool’s Paradise is more than just a present-day profile of a dark Eden. Gaines journeys back into the city’s social and cultural history, unearthing stories of the resort’s past that are every bit as absorbing–and jaw-dropping–as those of its present. The book begins with a snapshot of the city’s current excess (this is, after all, a sun-washed hamlet that boasts, on a per capita basis, more bars–and breast implants–than any other place in America), then plunges into the Beach’s origins, chronicling the audacious rise of such hoteliers as the Fontainebleau’s Ben Novack and the Eden Roc’s Harry Mufson, the sharp-elbowed tactics of Al Capone and Frank Sinatra, and the Mac-10 shooting sprees of the Marielito and Colombian drug lords. From there, the narrative shifts to two wildly eccentric souls who gave their lives to preserving the city’s architectural dazzle and creating its color palette, introduces us to "the Most Powerful Man in Miami Beach," and arrives finally in the modern day, where we meet, among others, a kinky German playboy who once owned a quarter of South Beach and publicly flaunts his sexual escapades; a fabulously successful nightclub promoter whose addictive past seems to have given him a portal into the night world’s id; and a gaggle of young sexy models, dreamers, and schemers on a mission to achieve significance. Evoking the Beach’s surreal blend of flashy Vegas and old Hollywood glamour, as well as its manic desperation and reckless wealth, Gaines persuasively demonstrates that though the Beach is–in the words of its most famous drag queen–"an island of broken toys . . . a place where people get away with things they’d never get away with anyplace else," it casts an irresistible spell.

Length: 3 acts.

The beautiful Hawaiian islands are the backdrop for this compelling true life story of a man trapped between the law and a life of drugs, crime and murder. The once hopeful heir to a family tradition of "To Serve and Protect" and how he spirals out of control. His parents' unconditional love, used as a means to an end, as they witness a son's gradual decline into the depths of hell. This is an unflinching look at how an addict uses and abuses those around him, ultimately destroying everything. Staunton is a natural story teller and his authentic voice makes this dark tale bearable. There is much to condemn here, much to learn; there is also redemption. A brave look at the dark side, the one we seldom let others see, the one we can't bear to bring into the light of day.