By Steve Pike
Talk about killer real estate. Ocean Ridge resident Terry Halfhill’s third self-published novel, The Briny Brotherhood, tells the purely fictional story of living, killing and dying in Briny Breezes as the book’s different characters plot to gain control of the 42-acre oceanfront community.
The Briny Brotherhood isn’t based on the much-publicized 2007 failed $500 million attempt by an investor group to buy Briny Breezes as much as it’s inspired by the plan. That is, the book’s main characters are drawn from the personalities of Halfhill’s fishing buddies, and much of the action takes place at the Gulfstream Texaco station on A1A, just across from the Briny Breezes park office.
Halfhill also weaves other familiar coastal communities’ names and landmarks — including Nomad surf shop, Old Key Lime House, Banana Boat and The Coastal Star — throughout the 325-page novel.
Despite the true-to-life characters and locations, the book’s plot, Halfhill emphasized, is pure fiction.
“There’s nothing true about it,’’ said Halfhill with a slight smile.
In the original attempt to buy Briny Breezes, “Nobody died,’’ Halfhill said. Conversely, in The Briny Brotherhood the first body drops within the book’s first seven pages.
It’s funny how synchronicity works. Halfhill’s brush with death in a 2010 motorcycle accident in Pennsylvania was the impetus for his becoming an author. Actually, Halfhill, who has a doctorate from the University of Tennessee, had for years published research articles in the fields of psychology and business prior to the accident, which nearly cost him his left leg. It was during his recovery that Halfhill decided to enter the world of fiction writing.
In fact, the first draft of Halfhill’s first novel, Copperhead Road, was written from his hospital bed.
“A lot of philosophy in that one,’’ said Halfhill, who still has a steel rod in his left leg. “I think in my state of mind, I was struggling with some of that. I was bored with everything and couldn’t care less.’’
Halfhill’s second novel, The Rally, published in 2012, tells tale of a 17-year-old boy coming of age in the world of bikers in Sturgis, S.D.
The Briny Brotherhood, which was released in early February, was written this past summer.
“Basically I was underemployed last summer and I just started to write,” Halfhill said.
The result is a fast-paced, humorous, slightly profane read that should entertain even those unfamiliar with the coastal communities area.
True to the book’s plot, The Briny Brotherhood currently is available only at the Texaco station.
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