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On the eve of President John F. Kennedy's final trip to Dallas, an irreverent narrator from the Ether begins to reveal the hidden chain of events that history never recorded. Spanning decades and weaving together Hollywood legends, political dynasties, secret affairs, and forgotten tragedies, Coincidence imagines how seemingly unrelated lives become entangled in the most infamous assassination of the twentieth century. From Joseph P. Kennedy and Gloria Swanson to Jackie Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and the young Lee Harvey Oswald, every choice, passion, and betrayal sends ripples through time. Behind every headline lies another story, and every story hides a secret long buried. As the strands converge on November 22, 1963, the line between fate and accident begins to blur. Rich in historical detail and provocative speculation, Coincidence asks: was it really coincidence at all?
Read an Excerpt
Jackie rarely consulted him about her clothing. Her sense of style, if not her sense of humor, was notorious.
“The pink.”
She seemed surprised. “Why the pink?”
“Texas. All those tired cowgirls raising their brat kids to be Miss America. They adore pink in Texas.”
The First Lady eyed the pink at arm’s length. She shrugged. “Okay. The pink.”
“But the hat,” POTUS said, “could you do without the hat. I hate those things.”
Jackie shook her head.
“I’ll need the hat. Without the bubble top on, my hair would be a mess.”
The president leaned back against the pillows on his rock-hard bed, supine in his boxers and the argyles Bobby had given him which bore the presidential seal. He grinned.
“Remember the times when we would drift down the Potomac, standing by the rail, the wind blowing wildly through your hair, and there on the river in the middle of the city you would sink sexily to your knees…”
“Drop dead, Mr. President.” Words Jackie would soon want back.
The door to Suite 850 opened and George Lapp entered to help The President dress. He nodded at Jackie. He had seen her naked many times and was indifferent to the marital scenario into which he had strolled. Jackie smiled curtly and sidled toward her own room to don the pink Chanel, including its matching hat.
Before she left, the President grinned and said to his valet. “I might need the back brace today, George, had a strenuous night.”
What inspired you to write this book and why do you think readers will get out of it?
Inspired is probably a verb too strong for my motivations in writing "Coincidence." Like for most Baby Boomers, the assassination of John Kennedy is scorched into my psyche...it was a fundamental event in our maturation...everyone remembers where they were when they first heard the news of JFK getting killed. Hundreds, probably thousands, of books have been written about that sad day In Dallas, including many novels (think "11/22/63" by Stephen King). The world probably didn't need another one by an obscure author from Cumberland, Md.
I had written two anthologies of short stories and a couple of those stories had tenuous, not really important to the tale, tie-ins to the Kennedy saga. At least one other could be repurposed to also tie-in to the Kennedy story. So, as I was considering a topic for my next novel, it occurred to me that I already had maybe 80 pages of a tale already written if I could tie them together and flesh out another 200 pages or so. I always liked E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime" and his use of an all-knowing narrator to bring context and short-cutting to the narrative built around fictional characters weaving in and about historical people and events. The use of a speaker speaking directly to the reader inside an historical novel moves it into a post-modern literary genre known as historiographic metafiction.
So I had some ready to go chapters and the "Ragtime" model and this way bigger than life cast of historical characters and events, so I just started plinking away. I wrote the novel sitting in coffee shops and saloons in Aspen Valley and as the "artist in residence"" at an independent book store in Cumberland, Md...Lily Books and Cafe. Given the very frisky nature of all the historical characters, my publisher J2B (a house mostly dedicated to Christian and children's books) recruited Audecyn Books to publish this tale of salaciousness, intrigue, and murder. They've been great.
I hope readers will find the book a quick, fun read. It actually has much historical detail to go along with the fictional components. For anyone with a fair recollection of the assassination and that time in history, the basic plot components should be satisfying. The intra-character interplay and dialogue are amusing...or at least I think so. Even though the story involves the murder of the century and as randy a crowd as ever got up to non-stop hanky-panky, the time was one of great innocence, especially to those of us who were young then. I hope those readers enjoy the good-natured re-telling of the well-known people and events. For younger readers, I think "Coincidence" will prove a quick, naughty read that actually provides them with a good take on the personalities and events that was America before everything went to hell after Dallas.
About the Author: Jon Ketzner was born in Cumberland, Maryland in the lovely Appalachian foothills. He grew up in Baltimore then graduated from Towson University with a degree in mathematics and went on to a long career as a consulting actuary. For many years, Jon and his family lived in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania before moving back to Cumberland in 1990.
As a recovering actuary and inspired by the Maryland Writers Association’s “Notable Authors” monthly challenges, Jon decided to try his hand at writing and give his left-brain side a rest. He cites as influences: Henry Fielding, Joseph Heller, Gregory McDonald, and Tim Dorsey.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/34506564.Jon_Ketzner
