Growing up with a cruel and insensitive father, protagonist Zack Pappas requires a thick and confident skin. However, when he commits an act of inadvertent violence, his life changes forever. Will he get back up on his feet? If so, where will he end up?

New York, NY -- (SBWire) -- 12/31/2012 --In the world of literature, anything is possible. In the case of Harry Rice and his novel ‘Killer Pappas’, one young man’s troubled yet steady upbringing takes a dramatic and unexpected –turn.

At its heart a novel about one man’s coming of age, ‘Killer Pappas’ also imparts a heart-warming and true-to-life story that could easily play out in the lives of any of its readers.

Synopsis:

Zack Pappas, a personable, popular, and intelligent high school student, living in the shadow of a revered, athletically talented, older brother, has his academic success and political ambitions promoted by a controlling mother, Felicity, while he is emotionally degraded by Cyrus, his cruel, insensitive father.

While defending his mother, Zack commits an act of violence, which sets in motion a series of events resulting in his expulsion from high school and a long-enduring sense of guilt. His hopes for either an academic or political career are damaged, but Zack, with the help of his uncle, Hector, and over the opposition of his mother, takes advantage of an unusual physical attribute which determines his decision to pursue a career in boxing.

He becomes an outstanding success and sets out on a journey of self-discovery involving physical, emotional, and, with advice and help of Ping Yang, a wise and trusted counselor, spiritual growth.

As the author explains, he injects a number of his own passions into the story for an added depth of realism.

“Most authors pluck their content from the air and weave it creatively into their story. However, as my story will be close to the heart of many readers, I needed to make it as realistic as possible, says Rice.

He continues, “For example, I have huge and long-time interest in boxing. The sport becomes a huge part of Zack’s life and even provides the basis for one of the book’s most intricate and surprising twists.”

Readers applaud the realism and vivid imagery within the book. In fact, since its release, ‘Killer Pappas’ has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews.

“Harry Rice's, Killer Pappas is filled with interesting characters, surprising plot turns, and inquiries into the way we live our lives. Rice throws together difficult parents, competitive siblings, an uncle with a secret, a reversal of the Oedipus myth, a Buddhist mentor for its title character, boxing, Bridge(the card game),a search for self-understanding, questions about the very existence of a self, and issues of sexual identity. Anything can happen in this page-turner,” says Billpro, who reviewed the book on Amazon.

Another reader, ehenness, was equally as impressed. They said that, “I read Killer Pappas mostly with high anticipation, enjoyed tremendously the beginning which I found so easy to read and grasp, albeit the myriad of scene changes. It captured my imagination as I enjoyed the mental visionaries Harry created so well.”

With overwhelming success on his hands, readers are demanding either a sequel or totally new story from Rice.

“I’m remaining tight-lipped about may be coming up in the future. Stay tuned for any official announcements; you never know where they may lead,” he concludes.

‘Killer Pappas’, published by Dog Ear Publishing, is available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/Tcl8R4

For more information and to read an excerpt, visit the author’s official website: http://harryricebooks.com

About Harry Rice
Harry Rice's higher education started at Columbia College in 1949 and ended at Teachers College, four blocks away, in 1968. He taught at the junior-high-school level for six years and at Queens College for thirty-four years. His specialties were teaching social studies, and teaching others to teach social studies better. His doctoral dissertation, not widely read, is titled Henry B. Stanton as a Political Abolitionist (University Microfilms, 1968). He switched from nonfiction to fiction to reach more readers following his retirement in 2002.

Harry (nickname: harirama) likes the three B's: bridge, boxing, and baseball (particularly the St. Louis Cardinals), the theatre, movies, philosophy, psychology, reading, writing, zen, and advaita vedanta. His mantra is: "smile, laugh, joke a lot." He likes cats and dogs a lot and people somewhat.