The Girl in the Flaming Dress — Michael J. Vaughn

Karen is a free-range comet in a compact car, roaming the Pacific Northwest in an attempt to escape her life. She winds up in Jackpot, Nevada, a “veritable Brigadoon of a town” on the Idaho border. Gerry is Jackpot's resident photographer, condemned to a lonely existence by a ten-year-old tragedy. Should the comet and the dark star meet, they will weave an extraordinary and odd friendship, chipping away at each other's guilt and working their way to the path of totality. Michael J. Vaughn is the author of twenty-one novels, including the acclaimed psychological thriller, The Popcorn Girl. Vaughn lives in San Jose, where he has recently embarked on a second career as a visual artist.