Okay – I have read Chapter One of the PaterNovel.
It really isn’t that bad. He was a journalist, so he knows how to hook you in with a good lead. All the exposition is knocked out in Chapter One, but it was still pretty readable.
Our hero is in Oklahoma looking to rescue a lost love named Aggie. I’d say this was another example of his poor name choices (her full name is Aggie Lawless), but Aggie is a good Texan name. Texas A&M students are called “Aggies” (the A stands for Agriculture). I’m sure that’s where he got the name.
Only, of course, Mom’s name was Margaret. From Margaret to Maggie to Aggie isn’t that much of a stretch. But it is a stretch, and it’s sad and silly that I’m stretching. I will be doing this all through the novel; I am certain of it. Searching for connections that are not there.