The Gratitude Turkey: A Novel

Think "A Christmas Carol" meets "It's a Wonderful Life" but with Thanksgiving instead of Christmas… Peter, Ronald, Harold and Mary Klein are the four children of a wealthy Connecticut family. One Thanksgiving, they are visited by a magical spirit, the Gratitude Turkey, who possesses a plastic inflatable lawn-decoration turkey-dressed-like-a-pilgrim balloon and does a happy song and dance to teach them about being grateful on Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, upon seeing a balloon come to life, they assume they are in a horror movie, freak out, and don't learn the lesson at all. Twenty years later, they are still holding onto their childhood trauma, and their lives are falling apart. Peter, who inherited the family's money, has become poor. Ronald came out as gay and lived a fun life but then got very sick and now has a terminal illness. Harold lives a seemingly perfect life with a trophy wife and three picture-perfect children but has morbid regrets about failing to achieve his dreams and hides a nasty drugs-and-alcohol problem to go with a violent temper. Mary tried her best to pursue her passion as a visual artist and watched her career crash and burn. At a Thanksgiving family reunion, as adults, they are visited by an evil spirit named Death Light, who offers to give them new lives in return for them selling their souls to the Devil. In that moment, the Gratitude Turkey reappears and takes one last shot at teaching the four Kleins to be grateful for their lives on Thanksgiving, to try to save their souls. Will the Gratitude Turkey win, or will Death Light claim four souls? This magical realism urban fantasy Thanksgiving holiday novel is a standalone novel complete story which runs to about 250 pages. Once you start reading it, prepare to be captivated and enchanted by a truly heartwarming and inspirational story, like a faerie tale for the modern age. Enjoy!