Reading for Hot Summer Days and Cold Winter Nights
Welcome to the
a
portal to the unpublished writings of Orin Hargraves
If you have landed here,
chances are that you were directed; but if you’ve landed here by accident,
don’t run away! There’s something for everyone, and all of it is guaranteed
100% harmless and eco-friendly. In addition, you’ll be able to say that you read
it way before it was chosen by Oprah’s Book Club.
I think that readers
often like to know what the person looks like who wrote what they are reading.
Author photos serve this purpose well, but since the works below are
unpublished other than in this space (and only you can do something
about that!), I have supplied my author photo, which appears in some of my
published nonfiction titles. (Yes, you can look for them and buy them on Amazon and elsewhere). I was aiming for a
certain amount of gravitas in this shot, while trying to ensure that I
appeared to have the most possible hair that current circumstances permit, and
at the same time suggesting a certain spiritual quality, a ready sense of
humor, a je ne sais quoi . . . whatever. I hope you’ll agree that I’ve
succeeded modestly.

The links below will
take you to other pages, where you can read about and read online various works
I have written. If you are an agent or a publisher you were probably directed
here by me or by my page at PublishersMarketplace,
but if you haven’t seen my page there,
you might want to have a look to see what I have already published and the sort
of work I do, the sort of OK guy that I am, etc.
Novels
The
Old Windrow Place a contemporary novel of spiritual growth and reckoning
with the past. A novel for those of us that are left behind by the Left Behind
series. I've already done the mental casting on this one if you want to buy the
film rights: Kevin Spacey in the role of Mark Loeman; Julianne Moore in the
role of Louise Loeman. Dorothy Miller? That one's up for grabs, with the
proviso that she is conceivably the mother of Ms. Moore. I love Piper Laurie,
but expect she’s a bit too old now. As for Luc; formerly I was thinking Matt
Damon but he's become a bit too red-meatish lately, so I think I would opt for
Heath Ledger or Steve Sandvoss.
Hotel
Balima NB: This is a work in progress
by my partner Oskar Havering. I’m putting up drafts of chapters for him as they
are finished. If you find the foregoing work not quite enough of a page turner,
try this. It’s got a thrill per page, or at least two or three per chapter.
Dead
Man’s Effects Two young men are thrown together against their wishes and
inextricably bound when they witness a sudden accidental death; but was it
really all so accidental? (The death and their being thrown together, that is).
Set mainly in London’s Docklands in the 1990s, when greed and financial
speculation made strange bedfellows of more than just these two.
Mental Arithmetic (link
coming soon) Ever read the Philoctetes by Sophocles and feel that it
deserved an updating for the 21st century? I did, and this is the
result. Instead of an archer exiled with a reeking foot wound, we have a
brilliant computer programmer exiled because . . . well, you’ll have to read
the book!
Collected Fiction
Morocco
Pentagraph Five stories of varying length, set in Morocco. Together (and
even singly!) they take you right into the heart of a country that has always,
and will always fascinate the outsider. If you’re looking for material for your
next movie or screenplay, you’ll find rich pickings here!
Short Stories
The
Last Summer of Viola Stone A tumultuous tale of desire that breaks out
against all the rules, told through the eyes of a young girl who observes it
and tries to make sense of it all.
Joseph's
Father's Caves A a visit to a remote village whose habitants are purported
to be saints proves that human nature is the same just about everywhere. Set in
Morocco, this story is part of the collection called Morocco Pentagraph (see
above).
We
Are Dying for English a story told through the eyes and in the words of a
third-world high school boy who falls hopelessly in love with his blond
American English teacher. This story is part of the collection called Morocco
Pentagraph (see above).
Among
the Mourners the strangest sorts show up at funerals.
Nonfiction
Pianos is an essay about
— you guessed it! — pianos. American Scholar turned it down (I know: the
nerve!), so that means it's still available for publication in your
prestigious literary journal.
If you wish to contact
the author about anything you read here (offers of publication or to purchase
subsidiary rights are most welcome), please email me here. Thanks!