Rum Luck Page 24

  “A toast.” Victoria raised her glass. “To pursuing a dream.”

  Miguel clinked his against hers. “To leaving the past behind.”

  Ben raised his glass to theirs in turn. “To starting over.”

  They dropped their tickets into the bonfire, where they were consumed by the crackling flames and cast into the sky in a cloud of smoke and ash.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Ryan Aldred finished his first novel while still in high school, a work that was never published and since exiled to the recycle bin of history. Fifteen years went by before Ben, Miguel, and Victoria burst forth from some forgotten corner of his mind and refused to leave until he told their story. Four months later, Rum Luck was on its way to an intrepid band of beta readers.

  When not writing, Ryan runs a small Canadian charity that supports education in Afghanistan, Tanzania, Uganda, and other at-risk regions. He previously worked as a defense analyst and continues to serve as a sergeant in the Canadian Forces Reserve. He’s never met a beach he doesn’t like.

  Ryan and his family live in beautiful Prince Edward County, Canada.