BARRI'S BOOKS
I wrote my first short story when I was 7 years old. I published an angsty piece in my school publication at 13. And the Lake Drive Dream came to full fruition when I published my first novel at 39. It was the proudest I'd ever seen my daddy be of something I accomplished. My most recent, Fifty Cents for a Dr Pepper, was one of the earliest books. I saved it for my first hardback, because I always listen to my mama, who said it was her favorite.
Fifty Cents for a Dr Pepper
Eleven-year old Timothy Ryan Weaver - covered with blood, cut up, and bruised - doesn't know why he's crouched in a storm drain waiting for police sirens to fade. His Before and After are defined by this night, this moment, this...this... . But in August of 1999, Timmy reaches for memories like smoke on his fingertips. Chinese food, Sam returning from the trip, then.... But he can't catch the then. In the days that follow, he tries to survive the aftermath of That Night. His days are darkened by hunger, his nights chased by a demon he doesn't recognize. To cope, Timmy clings to Before. He knows evil has splintered his perfect life. Before the storm drain, before being thrown onto the streets of Northern St. Louis to fend for himself, before he was bad.
Dregs
What's it like to be at the bottom? To see popularity from the outside and know something isn't right? "You don't have to be a Dreg, Benson," his teacher told him. "It's all a state of mind." Yeah, right! Benson Schmidt ain't buyin' it, because Colin, his older brother, is a god. A superstar in the halls, on the court, in life, Colin has it all. But Benson, a lowly seventh grader and a dreg in the social structure, launches Operation Cappuccino to try to show that the cream can't rise to the top without a bottom. Instead, he discovers that even the haves aren't satisfied with status quo. Some are even willing to kill to avoid becoming a have-not. Better to die than become a dreg.
Slipping
Danna Scanlon, a detective with the Special Crimes Task Force, is in the middle of the case of a lifetime. Seth Berman IS the case...he just doesn't know it. And not knowing has become a way of life, because Seth is never alone, even when he's by himself. The scit-scit of spiders behind his eyes is a precursor to Zeus "slipping" in, shoving Seth to the back of his own brain. Zeus sees his role as more of a safety valve, though the four other mental mates don't agree.
It's just a hobby, Zeus insists, but when Detective Scanlon gets caught up in the hunt for the worst serial killer in Lake Silverton's history, it's game on.
And she might just be ruthless enough to catch him.
8 Days
8 Days is the riveting story of the not-so-distant future when four brilliant young scientists begin the process of cleansing humanity by systematically releasing the chemical X-86 on cities around the world. Their mission? To destroy everything over the course of eight days, leaving a chosen few to survive and rule the planet. What they don’t count on is demented, power-hungry, 60-year-old CEO Tony Andrews who has his own plan – and weapons – to dominate the world.
Neither they nor Tony can stop the chemical’s survivors from coming together to face their uncertain future. The survivors who have been drawn to Joplin, Missouri, have the desire and instinct, along with the visions of eight-year-old Jessie, to guide them and begin to rebuild with what little is left.