My Occasion of Sin

­Inspired by true events that led to one of the worst race riots in the author’s birthplace of Omaha, Nebraska, My Occasion of Sin is set in a segregated city in 1969.

Two men from very different backgrounds: Luigi, an African American jazz drummer and George, a white music store owner who specializes in the accordion, are thrown together by fate, finding common ground in their love of music. At the same time, Mary Margaret and Vivian, two young girls from opposite sides of the segregated city, each drink in the new jazz scene for reasons of their own.

Music seems to unite and uplift everyone around … at first. Soon “occasions of sin” – where fear, mistrust and racism fester – are inescapable. Violence erupts, changing everyone’s lives forever.