Act II of The Island of Always
a novel by Stephen Evans
Let Me Count the Ways, book two of Stephen Evans’ The Island of Always series and sequel to The Marriage of True Minds, following Nick’s release from a psychiatric institution, he and Lena are once more together. But his visions have not subsided, and they continue to entangle everyone around him.
As her life shifts in predictably unpredictable ways, Lena must once against balance her feelings for Nick against the costs to herself and decide: Is delusion a form of love? Or is love a form of delusion?
Content Warning: This books deals with issues of divorce and mental illness.
ISBN: 978-1953725912
Order the Book:
Your favorite local bookstore
Bookshop.Org
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Praise for The Island of Always Series:
“Stephen Evans’ first novel, The Marriage of True Minds, is a funny, poignant, oddly beautiful book about three divergent life forms—animals, people, and lawyers. You will love it if you read it with a true mind.” —Kinky Friedman
“Evans demonstrates his playwright’s mastery of dialogue and tension in his accomplished and whimsical first novel about love and the bizarre behavior it ignites.” —Publishers Weekly
“Evans writes throughout with a sense of refreshing humor, and the snappy repartee between the two leads is also very funny and fun.” —Foreword Reviews
“Poignant and outrageous, moving and profound, Evans’ delectable debut novel thrums with zesty dialogue and a memorably zany cast of irresistible characters.” —Booklist
“A charming literary screwball comedy.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A truly amiable cast of characters, entwined with heartfelt emotions…in this highly entertaining and worthwhile read.” —BlueInk Review
“A zany and unpredictable comedic literary novel. Minneapolis, especially the Lake of Isles area, is vividly rendered.” —Foreword Clarion Reviews
“Creative and cleverly written.”—Booklife
“You will NEVER FORGET IT… A total Must Read.” —Book Review Crew
“Fans of A Man Called Ove will enjoy going on this journey.” —NerdyBookNurse.com
“The perfect feel-good book.” —CenteredonBooks.com
The third installment of Stephen Evans’ bittersweet love story, The Island of Always, mixes whimsy, grief, courtroom drama, and charm. —Blueink Review
Excerpt:
“Lena Grant stepped off the elevator on the skyway level of the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Minneapolis, slipped quietly down the deserted corridor until she reached the atrium, paused as she took two deep breaths leaning against the Italian marble wall near the museum with the working telegraph, slid into the historically accurate fully restored red and gold stage coach, hunched down low on the rear bench, and sang, very softly, the Wells Fargo Wagon song from The Music Man.
The lobby was deserted, except for the lone security guard at the front. Lena was sure he was aware of what she did. But he was discreet enough not to notice her singing and she was discreet enough not to mention how little affect his thermos of coffee was having.
Qui tacet consentire videtur was the common law maxim: silence gives consent, as Nick would surely have reminded her, after which he would have quoted the entire summation by Thomas More at his trial for treason in 1535, then perhaps a chapter or two of Utopia. Lena was a superb attorney, but she did not have her husband’s legendary legal memory.
De facto husband, not necessarily de jure, she reminded herself. Nick had signed the divorce decree. But was he competent to do so? Nick had suggested that he was not. But in making that argument, wasn’t he contradicting the argument? How can he argue that he wasn’t competent if he was competent enough to argue competency?
Lena sat upright, rocking the coach. Exactly, she thought. This was exactly what being married to Nick was like, even when you weren’t. Nothing was what it was, and everything was something else entirely that you had never imagined or anticipated.
She couldn’t live like this, she decided. And she was going to go home and tell Nick to his face. After no more than three more choruses.”
