Southern Cross
Southern Cross is the story of a young man wrestling with the tough choices and challenges confronting him as he enters adulthood. It’s a story about life’s biggest questions, which must be answered by everyone seeking to find meaning and purpose in life.
The story is an autobiographical account told by Leo Solstrom as he graduates from college, considers his future, and sets off to find his lost love, Esther. His journey takes him on an adventure far from home – to the big city of Chicago, the sandy shores of Southern California, and then all the way across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand, where Esther lives. When he finally gets there, he discovers that Esther’s life has collapsed in on itself and completely fallen apart. As the story unfolds, Leo must decide whether or not to confront some dark and difficult obstacles in order to rescue the love of his life. With the help of family, friends, and even a few complete strangers, the two lovers struggle to rekindle their relationship and find direction in life.
Leo’s journey to save Esther echoes the same one taken by Jason and the Argonauts long ago. Along the way, he and his companions are met by one giant obstacle after another. As Leo follows his heart to save Esther, he is guided by the mystical clues hidden in the stars and constellations high above. Thanks to Esther’s love for astronomy, the starry skies weave their way into the story in all sorts of amazing and fantastical ways. As Leo and Esther rekindle their love, their adventures in the beautiful island paradise of New Zealand lead to a deeper understanding of true friendship, young love, forgiveness, and the need to let go in order to find new life.
Southern Cross is the sequel to Solstrom’s novel entitled Northern Lights. It is a continuation of his autobiographical account of his life as a young man graduating from college and looking for direction in life. It’s about the confusing choices, difficult challenges, and seemingly immovable obstacles that confront everyone entering adulthood. There are decisions to be made, lessons to be learned, and even some things that need to be left behind. Life is not an easy road to travel, but it is a journey full of exciting adventures and endless possibilities. At least, it can be, if you choose to view it that way. Yeah, there’s always more to life – always.
Sample Chapters
Prologue: Lost in a Labyrinth
This short intro sets up the story. It’s what the main character, Leo, is thinking about as he leaves his summer job in the Boundary Waters and goes back to college in the fall. The recurring theme of the labyrinth surfaces throughout the story as it moves along and comes to a final conclusion.
Chapter 16: A Pair of Bogans
When Leo finally gets to New Zealand, he encounters a variety of interesting characters. This chapter is the introduction to Cass and Polly: two of Esther’s friends from high school. Esther likes them, but it remains to be seen what they will mean for Leo as he gets to know them.
Chapter 20: A Necessary Distraction
This chapter is about as far as I’m willing to go in revealing what happens in the story. Here, Leo has taken Esther to her aunt and uncle’s ranch, in hopes that she recovers from her illness. The ranch is a staging area for many events to follow as the story unfolds.
“Look Inside” The first few chapters of the book may be previewed at Amazon in the “Look Inside” feature for the Kindle version of Southern Cross.
Check out some reviews of Southern Cross.
Purchase a Book
Southern Cross is available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook versions. If you would like a signed copy of the hardcover edition, please email me directly with your request.
Southern Cross (all formats) is available at Amazon: Check It Out
The hardcover is also available at Barnes and Noble as well as other online retailers.
I would love to hear what you think, once you’ve read the story. If you’d like to help me out, please leave a nice review on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you purchased the book. Kind and thoughtful reviews are greatly appreciated. If you have comments or questions about anything, you can contact me on Facebook or email me directly. I can also be reached at my Goodreads profile page.
Author’s Notes
Southern Cross is a continuation of my debut novel Northern Lights. After writing my first book, I realized how daunting of a task it is to create a book from scratch. Northern Lights was a big challenge, but it left a lot of things up in the air at the end. From the start, I knew I’d have to write a sequel to bring it to its rightful conclusion.
After taking a break, the storyline for Southern Cross began to take shape, but I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off since I’ve never been to New Zealand. I dove into it anyway, and I learned a lot of things along the way. If you’d like to know more about how I wrote Southern Cross, check out my Author’s Notes.