Reset: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Events

In Reset, author Timothy Benson offers contemporary stories of ordinary people who encounter unexplainable and life-altering situations, often of their own making. Unprepared for the things they face, they struggle to change the course of events before they reach the point of no return. In "Whatever You Say," a young man's journey toward a new start begins with a white lie. The lie leads to another, then another, until the man's real identity starts to blur with a new persona that threatens to ruin his plans. An incredible string of luck makes a businessman's life seem too good to be true in "Way North of Lucky." He soon realizes his good fortune has a negative and dangerous effect on everyone around him, leading to a frightening conclusion about his future. "The Almost Life of Leonard Paduszka" tells the story of three imaginative young people who concoct a scheme to create a fake person. The plan succeeds beyond their expectations, until a homeless man gives their faux man more reality than they intended. "The Bandit and the Barista" recounts the story of a man whose gambling addiction leads him to plan a crime that, at first, seems foolproof. When his plan to temporarily blame a total stranger goes awry, he scrambles to save both the innocent man's future and his own. Rich in visual imagery, memorable, offbeat characters, and dark humor, the stories in Reset offer a view of the often strange and dangerous ways ordinary people navigate through modern culture.