Island Nights

About the Book

A carefree summer turns deadly in this fictional memoir about a 1950s childhood vacation on remote Bois Blanc Island in Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac.

The novel’s narrator, Avery Mann, sets the pace on an adventure that introduces the reader to Island vacationers sharing the pleasures of a remote paradise back in the days before electricity – or modern plumbing – had made its way to Bois Blanc.

They are joined by the colorfully independent, full-time inhabitants of Bois Blanc, a society where self-reliance is a given, and where friendships and faith are forged in equal measures.

Chief among Avery’s friends are Addie Winger, who wins Avery’s young heart; Lightfoot Jack, a ferry skipper renowned for empathic powers; Avery’s Grandpa, who in his final years seeks peace with God; and a little-known but soon-famous crime-fighter.

They all come together in a race against time and against the fickle, violent weather of the Straits, and stand face-to-face in the end with the death of a youngster ... and apparent resurrection.

This is a novel of love, loyalty and mystery -- and above all faith.

About the Author

A.C. Haeffner is a longtime journalist with experience on four daily newspapers, including a stint at USA Today. He has won eight New York State writing and editing awards, including best columnist among small-circulation dailies in 1997. He and his wife, Susan, and sons Jonathan and David live in Odessa, New York, where he currently operates his own memorabilia business and does freelance writing. This is his first novel, and is being published simultaneously with a sequel.