Badland Blues

“Is it contradictory to say Jason Kessler is a bright ray of light in the dark world of noir fiction? His debut novel is a well-told journey into the depths of criminality. More than a retold Hunchback of Notre Dame, here we have a homeless dwarf who ascends the heights, only to stare into the abyss.”
-Hayes Brandwell, Polemicist Post

Badland Blues is the story of Jean Scaputo, a homeless dwarf madly in unrequited love with a local waitress, Marissa. His life of miserable poverty changes fantastically when he wins the Mega Millions Lottery. With fortune in hand, Jean experiences the kind of romantic interest from Marissa he’s only dreamed about. But it’s too good to be true. Unknown to Jean, Marissa is being manipulated by a savage criminal gang led by the ingenious femme fatale, Viola Davis. Her plot leads Jean into the savage underbelly of a drug ravaged oil town. When all is said and done, he may salvage romance with Marissa or find himself stripped of everything, including his pride.

Jason Kessler is a fiction author & poet from Charlottesville, Va. Writing has been Jason's labor of love since he was a child punching out short stories on his mother's antique typewriter. Lately, he's written the screenplay Oasis, a book of poetry Midnight Road and his first novel Badland Blues. He's currently at work on his second novel.