Author Description

He was born different. Told by his domineering father, "you ain't worth a plug nickel." And "Nickel" he became, a stigma hung on him forever. Soon, alcoholic beatings began, the slightest misstep drove his drunk father into fits of rage. Then, one day, alone, hiding, Nickel discovers his special talent: he can communicate with machines, they speak to him in song, tales of broken parts and abuse. Nickel's family is dirt poor, scratching out an existence living on a ramshackle farm. Married to his first cousin, Nickel's father curses his fate. His mother, unschooled, barely able to read, does her best to protect Nickel, usually to no avail. On the day Nickel fixed a broken machine, and learned to make electricity, his mother discovers she is pregnant. A girl is born, "a useless, stupid girl, no smarter than that worthless son." Time passes, the beatings continue, yet, Nickel and his sister, on a rise overlooking the ocean, discover their sexuality, only to be discovered by their father. Nickel is beaten, driven away; his father had planned to sell the girl to a neighboring farm in need of a woman. Now those dreams are shattered and the girl must also pay. Nature takes a hand, ridding the family of Dad during a violent earth shaking storm. It is too late, Nickel is gone, miles away, afraid to go home, terrified of what has happened to his sister and mother. Nickel walks for days and taking a turn on the dirt road, stumbles upon Cedar Island a failing amusement park. The place is run by Chester, the inept son of the long dead founder. Nickel shows Chester he can fix all the machines and keep the rides running smoothly. Chester gives Nickel a one room shed to live in, no salary, but the promise of two meals a day. Nickel, happy to be with his machines accepts. Things are changing. Vincent, an up and coming criminal has big plans for Cedar Island, plans which do not include Chester or Nickel. Drifting in on a rainy day, Anna Mae, a good girl gone terribly bad, and harbori