Lola Is Never Drinking Again

Galveston 1988

Lola has nothing to show for herself after two decades abroad except for a serious drinking problem and a penchant for picking up strangers. She's missed her beloved aunt's funeral and lacks the capacity to digest some of the mysteries of her upbringing - from the demons that plagued her beautiful yet volatile mother, to the ways in which her aunt loved her but kept her at arm's length. She's also ill equipped to deal with the old house she's inherited, unable to afford the repairs, unwilling to face the memories it contains. Or the ghost she thought she once saw in the attic.

While stuck in a vicious cycle she can't escape, Lola befriends an old woman with an impressive vintage wardrobe - and some skeletons of her own in her colorful closet - and two teenage boys who are adept at getting themselves into trouble with drugs, men, money, and a glitzy yet dangerous party world that has flourished in Galveston despite the overall economic downturn.

Like the Island itself, Lola is scrappy, run down, quite honestly a hopeless mess. But just like the Island she has the capacity to reinvent herself and rise from her own ashes. If only she could stop drinking, she might find ways to help not just herself but those around her as well. Will she succeed? And what will it take? The self-discipline she's always lacked? Chewing gum to soothe her nerves? A strong desire to help her wayward teenage friends? A pinch of magic? Or perhaps the kind of love that can piece the veil between worlds and heal the grieving.