A Red Rose in a Beer Bottle by Joe Merriman

About the book

This is the story of two rebellious young people that are drawn to San Francisco: Domino, a twenty-three-year-old ex-navy man, and his teenaged girlfriend, a runaway named Shiela. Domino and Shiela live on the fringes of San Francisco's crime scene. Drugs, prostitution and petty fraud have always been their venue. Now, however, lured by dreams of increased wealth and status, they join ranks with an older underworld figure, Mario, a man who works both sides of the law with equal ease and without a trace of a conscience.

Through Mario, Domino and Shiela begin to commit a series of crimes which draws them deeply into San Francisco's criminal underworld, threatens to put them completely under the corrupt Mario's control, and sets the police on their track.

As their criminal careers spiral out of control, Shiela and Domino are brought into an escalating number of conflicts as their own relationship is strained, they suspect betrayal by Mario, and the police begin to close in on the gang, As petty crime leads to more serious crimes, and these in turn lead to murder, Shiela and Domino must wrestle with their consciences as they begin to fear for their lives -- and when Domino's parents are threatened by adult gangsters striving to bring Domino back under their control, Shiela and Domino hatch a plot to save not just themselves, but Domino's family as well.

In the final chapter, we find Shiela and Domino breaking up the adult gang that threatened them. With the threat removed, the two youngsters discover that maturity and honesty are more valuable than the money and status they set out to acquire -- and this allows them to reaffirm their commitment to one another.

About the author

I was born in San Francisco and, though my family moved often, I was raised primarily in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Perhaps because of the influence of these three communities I have had a life-long love for books and writing.

At various times I have been employed as a school teacher, forest ranger, bartender, emergency nurse and ambulance attendant. Though my various jobs may appear quiet different to the general public, they are related because they have provided me with an opportunity to interact with large numbers of people, from all walks of life, in countless different situations. This interaction has provided me with an always increasing store of experience that shape my writing.

When I am not working or writing I can be found skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. Many of my favorite memories area of winter days spent skiing followed by winter evenings reading in a warm, comfortable lodge.