Lawrence Cromwell

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Lawrence Cromwell Bio

I was born in Coral Gables, Florida, in 1950. Other than on vacations,
I never left the state until 1983, when I became a Peace Corps Volunteer
teaching math, science, and even English In Kenya, East Africa. My
experience in Kenya opened a whole new world of self-reliance and personal
discovery for me and I also got married in Nairobi to Suzanne Cromwell, whom
I had met in Miami at a party shortly before proposing marriage and leaving for
Africa. She flew over from the U.S. and we had a civil ceremony about 39 years ago.

After finishing my two-year tour, Suzanne and I returned to the States. I then
started teaching math at an inner-city school in West Palm Beach, and Suzanne
worked as an architect. After five years of teaching in the States, I started
working for DoDEA, teaching the dependent children of deployed U.S.
soldiers in South Korea and then Belgium over a fourteen-year period. After
finishing my overseas career, I worked for eight years at Quantico Middle/High
School until I retired from full-time teaching to live in Hobe Sound, Florida
where I taught and tutored students in math, chemistry, and physics on a part
time basis.

During my teaching years, I would sometimes get ideas for stories and just
start writing them down. Deciding to monetize these stories pushed me to
publish some of them on Amazon Kindle, where I still have a few of my best
works on sale.
As mentioned earlier, I began writing in a rather circuitous way. Growing up,
I had never considered myself to be a writer due to the fact that I hated reading,
couldn’t stand literature, and had no reason to believe that I could ever be a
journalist or writer of any kind. I never had the luxury of studying anything that
didn’t have to do with learning and teaching math and science. But once I started
writing, I found out that I enjoyed it (sans the English teachers standing over me
and disapproving of my efforts). Now, I have published a number of short stories
and I published my first novel, Seven Manipulated Minds in March of 2023. Which
proves to anybody who thinks they can’t write that they should try once again.

Go get it!

“'A creatively inspired tale of revenge and redemption from a writer with panache and potential.' Kirkus Review 'The author’s clever integration into the narrative of insights into how people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome can be victimized, disenfranchised, and rejected by society because of their behavioral anomalies adds an additional layer of interest. This suspenseful story will appeal to fans of thoughtful psychological thrillers.' Kirkus Review 'Cromwell does an effective job of combining SF elements and emotional trauma in a complex and harrowing tale of revenge somewhat akin to the Saw horror movie series.' Kirkus Review”
– Kirkus Reviews

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

SEVEN MANIPULATED MINDS

BY Lawrence Cromwell • POSTED ON March 15, 2023

An abused man exacts revenge on his former high school tormentors in Cromwell’s techno-thriller.

Eight years after graduating from high school, Alfred, a man on the autism spectrum, still suffers after being relentlessly bullied by a group of cruel schoolmates. As an adult, he’s now bent on revenge, and he puts his technological prowess to work in a diabolical scheme to settle the score. Alfred virtually assembles six of the most savage, intimidating, and physically abusive schoolyard bullies from his teenaged years who “put me through terror on a daily basis,” including Steve; Steve’s buddies, Bill, Nate, and Juan; Steve’s girlfriend, Alexa; and, worst of all, the pretty, spiteful, double-crossing seductress, Jessica. After stalking them with a “brain wave pattern signal collection device” to scan their minds, Alfred forcibly controls their conscious thoughts and their perceptions. Before embarking on a “path to forgiveness for all the wrongs perpetrated against me and to develop my empathy,” Alfred revels in his role as a vengeful sadist, creating a hellish landscape in which his former tormentors suffer the agonizing (though illusory) pain of needle sticks, starvation, dental infections, suffocation, and dark re-creations of their most uncomfortable childhood memories. Alfred then creates a virtual boardroom scenario in which each classmate faces the others for a “group discussion” to systematically process their misconduct. When an unexpected nemesis surfaces to derail the entire project, Alfred must reconsider his objective. Cromwell does an effective job of combining SF elements and emotional trauma in a complex and harrowing tale of revenge somewhat akin to the Saw horror movie series. The author’s clever integration into the narrative of insights into how people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome can be victimized, disenfranchised, and rejected by society because of their behavioral anomalies adds an additional layer of interest. This suspenseful story will appeal to fans of thoughtful psychological thrillers.

A creatively inspired tale of revenge and redemption from a writer with panache and potential.

Pub Date: March 15, 2023

ISBN: 9798887633176

Page count: 400pp

Publisher: Newman Springs

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024

Download Sample Chapter

ADDITIONAL WORKS AVAILABLE

A Supermarket Romance

A supermarket checkout clerk encounters an older gentleman who is smitten by her. She recognizes his weakness for her and initiates a game whereby she pops up near him at various places in the store, leaving him to wonder how she got there. She gets a kick out of outmaneuvering the old man, but he introduces her to one word as a way to influence the outcome of her future life. This book is accompanied by a couple of short stories introducing a group of children who wander the universe by way of the ‘junk’ they find in their attic.

Crawl Naked Over Broken Glass

A high school chemistry teacher battles high school cheating and decides to get even with the students who engage in it. In the meantime, he becomes an obstacle to a major dogfighting ring that would rather he didn’t exist.

Hide Anywhere

A gambler who is deep in debt to a very unforgiving crime syndicate turns in desperation to a terrifying character known only as The Voice for a quick solution. The price? He must play a game of hide and seek. The arena, it turns out, is the entire universe! The stakes are ultimate since if he is found by The Voice, his soul is forfeited. He must escape capture for ten Earth years or a thousand different lives in order to walk away free from The Voice. Early on, though, he discovers that The Voice cheats – often! He is pursued across the universe, often with The Voice right on his heels. No matter what lifeforms he transforms himself into and no matter how far he goes, he is constantly only moments from getting caught. Will he make it to the finish line? Will The Voice honor the deal if he does?

The Little Grey Plastic Box With The Blue Button The Perfect Job

A very lazy boy who hates doing anything over to correct his mistakes grows up quitting or getting fired from every job he starts. He finds himself about to be evicted from his apartment with very few options. In the final hours before he loses everything he owns, he discovers an obscure ad for a job opening with a very odd description of duties. After calling the listed number, he is told that all he has to do is answer a special phone whenever it rings and press a button on a little grey plastic box. After he does, an envelope with a hundred dollars appears outside his apartment door. The drawback? He must answer that special phone whenever and wherever he is when he gets a call. When he answers and pushes the button, he is told, somebody dies. He doesn’t know the victims so who cares? He takes the job and turns his financial situation around. He even gets a girlfriend. Life is good, but then?