The Host

About the Book

A generation's relentless search for personal power, fostered by the unbounded greed of others, weaves the story. Campbell MacDonald, a jaded, sixties-reared, radio talk-show host in the small Southwestern tourist mecca of Arroyo Del Rio, is caught in a vortex of evil manipulation beyond his control. His money-hungry boss, Kendall Belton, in cahoots with a drug lord and a mind-altering "doctor", pushes him into serious personal decisions about his life.

"Cam" struggles to retain control of the program content of his popular show while Belton cajoles him into exploiting it as a tool to market human potential seminars at the Nexus Institute, a remote mountain encampment. Cam's motives for wanting sway are only self-serving at first, but eventually stem from a righteous concern after God leads him through a series of redeeming experiences.

The seminars are designed to lead attendees into consumption of illegal, "personality-enhancing", addictive drugs in which Belton has a financial stake. Dispensing these powerful potions is "Dr." Stephen Miles, a pseudo-psychiatrist who's actually a chemist/pharmacist with a revoked license, a dark heritage and head of the town's new Nexus Wellness Clinic. The drug lord, Frank DiFalco, and his thugs furnish the raw materials for the "prescriptions" by hijacking pharmaceutical trucks.

Cam's allies are: aging-hippie audio engineer, Shep Groom, Waylon Bradford, a deputy sheriff, and Smokin' Sam Jackson, a barbecue restauranteur who leads prayer and Bible studies for men at his restaurant. Cam's girlfriend, Karen Burdine, her Indian mentor, Raymond Redbird, and Cindy Garcia, the producer of Cam's show, also support him.

Standing behind-the-scenes as a bulwark against the evil doings is the brotherhood of praying men at the barbecue restaurant. God rewards their faith when some main characters are spiritually changed and, with others, are used by God to break the evil stronghold over their town.

About the Author

In 1969, Ed founded Ed Crumley/Architectural Arts and began a multi-decade career producing architectural illustrations and architectural models for architects and real estate developers across America. Early in his career, Ed wrote, illustrated, and self-published a basic correspondence course on architectural illustration which he marketed through small ads in art publications.

He has more recently been an observer of modern culture as a freelance movie critic for Preview, a publication of Movie Morality Ministries for which he has detailed the plots and both the redeeming and objectional material in the latest motion picture. Preview is distributed worldwide through subscription on the internet to families desirous of knowing whether a particular movie is suitable for them to attend.

He has written a regular human-interest column for a crime-watch newsletter entitled Neighboring. This quarterly piece interweaves tips on home protection with his interesting viewpoints on neighborhood life. His other published writing has included op-ed pieces and letters in the Dallas Morning News.

Ed's love of the outdoors has taken him on many backpacking trips into the Rocky Mountains. These trips, his long interest in talk radio as a listener and caller, his lengthy study of Scripture, and his concern for people's inability to find Truth in the fog of today's shallow popular culture, inspired him to begin writing fiction as a way of providing spiritual discernment through entertaining and engrossing stories.

After attending American Christian Writer's conferences for several years where he attended many workshops on various phases of writing, Ed completed his first novel, The Host, and has begun a sequel which will be the second in a series featuring the same core characters, adding new ones, and dealing with new issues each time.