Off Season — R.W. Clinger

Two years after the death of football legend Thad Force, his lover Jay Falcon opens Holly Kill Cottage on Pennesco Island, Lake Erie. When the guests begin to arrive for the extended Fourth of July weekend to pay homage to Thad, trouble follows.



Saul Mellow is an alcoholic and has anger management issues. He's also bitter over the ending of his football playing career. Tom Klayson, Saul's lover, is tender and weak, and a frequent victim of Saul's rage. He fears he may not survive the weekend alive. Bernie Cavanaugh is writing Saul's biography, Off Season. Bernie's adorable, sweet, and not at all like Thad. So why does Jay have a sexual attraction to the man? Ex-actress Gillian Shank is sassy and curt. Jay loathes her, but she was a loyal friend to Thad. Will they ever be able to put aside their differences and get along?



The weekend is full of surprises -- a visitation from Thad's ghost, a thunderstorm resulting in a power outage, the discovery of a secret cemetery, amateur football games played on the lawn, streaking, and an abundance of alcohol. Can Thad's friends pay homage to his memory and celebrate his life without destroying their own relationships in the process?