The Last Professional

Lynden Hoover is on the brink of a new beginning with a fast-growing tech company, but he first needs to confront the traumas of his past. At age eleven Lynden found a surrogate father in the form of a hobo riding a train, the Tramp, who abused and discarded Lynden. The memory of the Tramp has haunted Lynden's life, ruining his relationships. Now Lynden makes a snap decision, leaping into an open boxcar to find the Tramp and somehow punish him.

There Lynden meets The Duke, a hobo who calls America's landscape his home. He's "Profesh" and clings to an honor code quickly fading into the past. The Duke has his own secrets, fleeing from the merciless Short Arm, a one-time friend who now wants The Duke dead. The Duke reluctantly agrees to teach Lynden how to be a Professional hobo, all while trying to stay ahead of the relentless Short Arm.

As Lynden and The Duke travel the rails a unique friendship forms, more than just that of mentor and apprentice. A special bond is formed as secrets are exposed, sacrifices made, and trusts are betrayed. Three determined people hurtle toward a spellbinding climax where pasts and futures collide, and lives hang in the balance.

Author: Ed Davis
Publisher: Artemesia Publishing, LLC
Published: 01/25/2022
Pages: 278
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.30w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781951122256


Review Citation(s):
Foreword 11/03/2021

About the Author
Ed Davis's Road Stories has recently been an Amazon top ten best seller. Kirkus Review called his novella In All Things, "...powerful; beautifully written, well-observed and effective." His short story "Not For the Last Time" was just published in New English Review, and his fiction appears in Rougarou Journal of Arts & Literature and Gris-Gris Journal Literature, Culture, and the Arts. He produced and directed the documentary Faces of Chidamoyo, was the bass player for Cynthia Carr & The Carrtunes for thirty years, is a runner, backpacker, and world ranked, masters level discus thrower. Colin Elgie is an English illustrator and former member of Hipgnosis. He has worked with progressive rock bands and musicians such as Pink Floyd, The Hollies, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Renaissance, Genesis, Fumble, Peter Gabriel, Roger Cook, Al Stewart, and Roger Taylor.