None Wasted, None Spared

On the cusp of the Great Depression, Philip Steadman marries Vera, though he has no idea that he's entered into a relationship with his opposite in nature. She loves the attention of other men and has a deceitful heart that soon becomes difficult to hide. Philip, on the other hand, is a man of integrity by nature whose greatest weakness is Vera. Philip and Vera's union produces two children, Jack and Rodney, who are also on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, it is their eldest son, Jack, who takes the family on a roller coaster ride with his never-ending stunts, from setting fire to an abandoned house to riding the rails and visiting brothels. There is never a dull moment in his life. Problems seem to mount with no end in sight until Philip befriends Jimmy Burns, an Australian expatriate who convinces the Steadmans and a group of their friends to abandon Seattle and head to Woodinville, a small rural town to the northeast. It is a chance for everyone to reinvent themselves, even Jack. Will Woodinville give the Steadmans a new beginning or will it be the beginning of the end? Brian Pelton's debut novel, None Wasted, None Spared, is a true to life depiction of a family's struggle to survive during The Great Depression. Brian Pelton studied English and history at the University of Washington. He lives with his wife on Whidbey Island in Washington State where he is at work on his second novel, Woodinville.