The Life of Riley is a novel that will be published by Murder Slim Press in 2015. It's a story about money and murder, love and loss, and friendship and faith; It's a mystery and thriller wrapped into one, with a few twists that you'll never see coming. The book is a tale about a simple Irish guy from Chicago who owns a pub, and who's life becomes anything but simple after he's charged with murder and pursued by a politically ambitious federal prosecutor.

This book is my first effort at full-length fiction, and hopefully it's a story that you'll enjoy reading. Writing this book has been a cool experience. I certainly didn't set out to write a novel with 50 or so characters, but once I put the pen to paper, the novel took on a life of its own. Characters materialized from the ether of my imagination, while other characters came to me in my dreams.

Riley is basically a simple guy who likes to drink beer and hang out with his son and his dog. But circumstances and fate embark him on a dangerous and complicated journey...as life sometimes does with all of us. There's a fortune, and possible new love at stake when he's charged with murder. As events unfold, people choose sides, and Riley is forced to fight for his survival using only his wits, his brains, and the help of his family and friends. It all steamrolls towards a conclusion in a courtroom that will decide what becomes of...The Life of Riley.

Listed below are thumbnail sketches of the characters in the book. I did these bios to post to my website for my readers around the world to check out so that they can be part of the novel as I write it. I also have a dedicated Twitter feed for the book. This email is a courtesy copy of what I'm sending to my webmaster. You might want to wait until you read the book, and then go back and read the character bios to see if they ran true to type. There are a few chapters posted on my site at bankblogger.weebly.com and I will continue to share the process of writing with you guys. I welcome your feedback too. Thank you.

-- THE LIFE OF RILEY --
(Cast of Characters)

SHAMUS JAMES O'RILEY:
6'2 w/ Black hair and Green eyes. Goes by the name of Riley. Parents were Irish immigrants who died when he was five years old. Grew up in Holy Family orphanage in Chicago; raised by nuns and priests. Savant in mathematics; Notre Dame graduate with a MBA and PhD in Economics and Finance. Has affinity for numbers. Shuns God; thinks it's all a scam. Owns a pub in Charleston, South Carolina named The Ninth Lord.

GENERAL SHERMAN:
75 lb solid White English Bulldog with Brown eyes. Very social. Drinks Guinness stout. Only barks if he's forced to. Wears a wide Royal Blue collar with Gold shamrocks embroidered on it and a large Gold four leaf clover hanging from the collar with his personal information engraved on the back. Lives in and above the pub.

JIMMY MACPHEE:
6'5 Blonde hair and Blue-eyed Scotsman. Riley's best friend since childhood; grew up in the orphanage with Riley after mom abandoned him. Former United States Marine. Devout Catholic. Runs the Ninth Lord.

HONEY LUANN DRIGGERS:
5'10 Blonde haired Blue-eyed hot mess. Gorgeous. Perpetually amorous. Clemson graduate. Has definite gold-digger qualities. Jealous with trust issues. Wants to marry Riley. Riley's girlfriend at the time of his arrest.

DANNY CALLAHAN:
12 years old. Sandy Blonde hair with Hazel eyes. Smart. Riley's adopted son. Believes in God and goes to mass with Jimmy MacPhee. Attends private school in Charleston (Porter Gaud); wants to follow in Riley's footsteps and attend Notre Dame one day. Close to Jimmy MacPhee and Sister Rose.

SISTER ROSE:
Five foot tall nun from County Cork, Ireland. Mother Superior at Holy Family in Chicago. Raised Riley and was friends with his parents. Old-school nun; a nun's nun. Hypnotic Sky-Blue eyes. Believes that God and the Devil are in a spiritual tug of war for Riley's soul. Drinks beer and whiskey.

CATHERINE "KITTY" KIERNAN:
5'5 with large Brown eyes and curly, shoulder-length Chestnut-colored hair. Defense attorney. Professionally confident and personally insecure. Fiesty Has a history of choosing emotionally unavailable men. Has won three murder trials. Riley's lawyer.

NEIL BULLOCK:
Federal judge and Riley's friend. Plays in Riley's weekly poker game. Has same hobby as Riley (watching ships coming into the Charleston harbor).

CHAMBLEE WENTWORTH:
Tall, Citadel graduate and former quarterback. Riley's friend; plays in Riley's weekly poker game. Owns carriage company in downtown Charleston. Has a sex addiction.

HAROLD SMALLS:
35 year old African American and Riley's friend. Plays in Riley's weekly poker game. Has dry sense of humor. Supervisor at the South Carolina Ports Authority and high-ranking member of International Longshoreman's Association (ILA) union.

SISTER MARY FRANCIS:
Young nun at Holy Family in Chicago. Sister Rose's aide de camp. Born in Ireland and speaks with thick Irish brogue. Speaks Gaelic. Happy with a carefree laugh. Likes to drink with Sister Rose. Likes and believes in Riley.

FATHER DAMEN:
Priest and math teacher at Holy Family. Mentor and father figure to Riley during his early childhood. Tall with fair hair and rosy cheeks. Born in Holland. Good sense of humor. Not particularly religious, but believes that St. Patrick personally watches over Riley.

MISS MINNIE:
Squat, African American cook at The Ninth Lord. Devout Baptist. Tough, no-nonsense affect. Speaks with a Gullah accent. Believes in Riley completely. Loves Danny. General Sherman, not so much.

MR. SAM:
Miss Minnie's boyfriend. Around 50. Works landscaping and does odd jobs and eats lunch at The Ninth Lord. Sits at the end of the bar and waits to give Miss Minnie a ride home.

ROBERT HAGOOD RAVENEL:
The U.S. Attorney for South Carolina and Riley's nemesis. Comes from Old Money aristocratic family in Charleston. Short, bald with Black tonsure. Nickname "Battlefield Bob." Civil War reenactor. Ambitious; wants to be Governor of South Carolina. Willing to cheat to win. Loves to refer to himself in the third person as The United States of America.

JOHNSON CAPERS CALHOUN:
Tall with a sinewy build, with dark, piercing eyes. Citadel graduate; former Army Major; former Delta Force operator; was nicknamed The Chameleon in the special forces for his ability to blend into his environment. Riley's cellmate and criminal Sherpa. Quick wit; highly intelligent and highly manipulative. Morally flexible. Former schoolmate and enemy of the U.S. Attorney (who is also prosecuting him). Riley calls him "The Major."

THE HONORABLE MOSES MAYBANK:
Chief Federal Judge for the Charleston Division; judge assigned to Riley's case. African American who looks like his name. Unruly, White, bushy hair. Appointed by Bush 41. Runs a tight ship. Defense friendly. Has Black reading glasses that ride the end of his nose. Occasionally quotes scripture.

AGENT WILLIAM BOYKIN:
Department of Homeland Security agent. The U.S. Attorney's inside man at DHS and personal doo boy. Crew cut, with steely gray eyes and a perpetual sneer. Has attached his wagon to the U.S. Attorney's rising star.

AGENT JOYCE HARRIS:
Department of Homeland Security agent and Bill Boykin's partner. Former Customs agent who transferred to DHS. Goes along with the program.

J. TED ELLSWORTH:
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA). Disciple and right hand man of Battlefield Bob. Harvard law graduate. Intelligent, but mousy and spineless. Goes along unquestioningly with his bosses schemes.

LISA GHERADINI:
Riley's Italian ex-girlfriend from college. Attended Notre Dame on a scholarship for basketball. Pushy; demanding; lives in Little Italy in New York City. Riley used to go home with her on holidays and became friends with her mom and brother.

MOHAMED "MIKE" YUSEF:
Riley's friend from college who owns grocery stores in Charleston. Born and raised in Aqaba, Jordan. Devout Sunni Muslim. Bald, with the fiery eyes of a zealot. Was the reason Riley first visited Charleston.

OMAR YUSEF:
Mohamed's brother in New York City that wholesales dry goods to a community of Arabic grocers in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Fronts a chain of markets there where his partners are illegal immigrants.

MUSTAFA "SAM" KHASHID:
Mike's grocery manager in Charleston and the person that Riley sometimes deals with.

FLETCHER MORRIS:
Attorney General of The United States of America. Based in Washington, DC. Keeps pressure on Battlefield Bob for a conviction. Famous line: "Don't make us look stupid down there."

LENNY GREENBERG:
Riley's Certified Public Accountant in Charleston. Licensed broker that also manages Riley's stock portfolio. The first person Riley calls when he's arrested.

BISHOP FITZPATRICK:
Bishop for South Carolina whose seat is at the Cathedral of St. John The Baptist in Charleston. Has ties back to Ireland, and ties to Sister Rose.

JEROME "ROMEY" BLUNT:
The investigator for Kitty's criminal defense firm. Former DEA agent. Dark-skinned with a shiny bald head and suspicious eyes. Street and book smart. Thinks Riley's guilty.

MISS MARGIE:
Kitty's paralegal and office manager. In her 50's and looks like Aunt Bee, but is smart as a whip. Takes Riley's collect calls from the jail and becomes another one of his defenders, even though she thinks that he's most likely guilty. Has a wiener dog (Dachshund) named Midge. Loves to eat and talk about food.

SALVATORE "BOOM BOOM" GHERADINI:
Lisa's brother. Lives with his wife Carla on Sullivan street in Little Italy in NYC across the street from his mom. Has a social club with a kitchen and a bocce court out back; vocation and origin of income often speculated about. Poker player. Loves Riley.

MARSHAL JAMESY:
United States Marshal from Boston who works in the Charleston division. Assigned to escort Judge Bullock and frequently runs private errands for him. Boston College and New England Patriots fan.

OFFICER DIXIE GAMBREL:
Bleach-Blonde officer at the Charleston County Detention Center that works in Riley's cell block. Chews gum, and loves to pop it. Addicted to tanning beds and fake nails. Has a look that screams "Your trailer or mine?"

FOOT:
6'10 Nigerian that's so Black he looks Blue. Lives in Riley's cell block at the jail. Has the biggest dick in the cell block, hence, the name Foot. In jail for trafficking heroin. Silverback, but scared of The Major.

THE SMITHEREENS:
Two young redneck bank robbers from Georgia that live in Riley's cell block. As part of their M.O. they'd blow up abortion clinics across town from the banks they robbed as a diversion. Like to fight. Like Riley because he's charged with killing a Muslim. Names: Jeremy and Jeb Hutto.

DAVEY ORTON:
Crooked lawyer that lives in the cell block with Riley. Smart and crafty. In jail for stealing millions from his clients trust accounts. Arrested by Interpol in the Canary Islands. Jailhouse lawyer who's famous line is, "I'm the best that honey buns can buy."

CHEWY:
Fat Mexican with bad tattoos and bad breath that lives in Riley's cell block at the jail. In jail for alien smuggling and human trafficking. managed and ran a network of polleros that brought 500 illegal's across the border a week. Indicted out of Charleston, South Carolina after ICE raided one of his migrant worker boarding houses.

RAHEEN A.K.A MOHAMED JIHAD:
Militant Black Muslim in Riley's cell block. member of the Nation of Islam. Skinny with spotty goatee and beard. Wears black crocheted kufi. Hates Riley and all White people. Travels with two Muslim sycophants in tow. Indicted for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.

BOO RADLEY:
Large, stoic, scary-looking White guy that lives in the corner cell of Riley's cell block. Lives alone because it's rumored that he killed his last cell mate. Keeps the window on his cell door covered and never comes out. Other inmates are scared of him and give him a wide berth.

COCO CHANEL:
Tall, skinny, light-skinned, Black homosexual in Riley's cell block. Nappy hair with big lips that he likes to purse while he rolls his eyes as if to say that the whole world's absurd. Hair stylist. Fairly silent. Inseparable from Amy Winehouse. Loves to put his walkman on and dance around the cell block.

AMY WINEHOUSE:
Tall, thin, pale, White homosexual in Riley's cell block. Bushy mane of Black hair with a tattoo of Betty Boop on his neck. Wears Blue eye shadow made from Skittles Flamboyant. Likes to snap his fingers and call people "Child." Loves to dance with CoCo.

LT. MANIGAULT:
Also known as "Nanny Goat." Black Lieutenant in Riley's cell block that hates inmates. Small, tight afro, with cruel eyes. Calls Riley "Killer" and tells him, "I wish they'd let me be the one to throw the switch when they execute you, boy." Black republican.

Jeffrey P. Frye
murderslim.com
bankblogger.weebly.com
@bankblogger2
@thelife0friley (use the zero as an "O" in the word "Of")