An Absence of Principal

Ben Doggett, recent recipient of the School Administrator of the Year award, is a man of high character and morals. Admired by his peers, honored by his superiors, and loved by everyone in Midland, Texas, Ben is a humble family man who always puts others before himself. But with the simple click of a mouse, all of that is about to change. After a message pops up on his MacBook and asks if Ben would like to spin the wheel on an online gaming site, Ben naively hovers his mouse over "OK" and clicks. Six weeks later, Ben is thousands of dollars in debt. Prisoner to his newfound gambling addiction and the passionate affections of his secretary, Ben knows his life is taking a fast, steep fall. Unfortunately, every time he thinks he has found a way out of the madness, the hole he has dug for himself and his family grows deeper. Desperate for a solution, Ben makes another fateful decision that puts not only his life in danger, but also the lives of those who love him. An Absence of Principal is a tale of hope, redemption, forgiveness, and one man's desperate attempt to return to the life he once loved-before it is lost forever.

Jimmy Patterson is the author of Sticky Doorknobs and 50 Years: The Story of the Diocese of San Angelo, and coauthor of the novel Chisos Mountain Sunset. He has two other books in the works, as well as a third novel with his coauthor, Tom Morgan. Tom Morgan is a criminal defense attorney in Midland, Texas, and the coauthor of the novel, Chisos Mountain Sunset. He is a graduate of the Baylor University Law School.