Media Frenzy

The Rose Garden Arena Incident, Book 2

By: Michael Hiebert

Narrated by: Eric Bryan Moore

Stephanie Banner is 20 years old the night Dakota Shane stands center stage while six bullets ring out through the stadium. Five deaths occur from those shots, although only four ever go on record.

All four are women.

It happens in Portland, Oregon, at the Rose Garden Arena. The show is a sellout. Twenty-two thousand seats gone in less than four hours.

For the eight days leading up to the concert, a handful of disparate lives intertwine as their world unravels. Their sanity, their relationships, their work, their children, the law, and even death hangs in the balance. Among them are: the learning-disabled black kid from East St. Louis trying to move past having his little sister die in his arms when she and his Momma become collateral damage during a drive-by; the quick-witted black man who, after losing control of his car on his way to visit family in Portland, finds himself duct-taped to a chair, a hostage to a meth-addled lunatic wanted for a double homicide; the Latino son now desperately struggling to rise above his abusive father and help his mother and sister move on to a better life, while unable to let go of the tremendous guilt he bears over the fate of the other sister he once had; the slash-punk singer who manages to score her band the best gig of its career, only to learn she may not have a band left to play it; the Korean psychiatrist finally confronting how much of her life has slipped by her - how many years she lost - while focussing on far less important things; the ex-LAPD detective now working for the Portland PD finally facing the ghosts that still linger from the time of the Rodney King riots - a past that forced him to drag his family up out of LA; the bitter ex-wife of a disc jockey who still secretly listens to her ex-husband's midnight radio show as she drinks herself into a whiskey coma; the out of control daughter having unprotected sex with strangers hoping that pregnancy might draw the attention of parents unable to see past themselves.

And then, Dakota Shane: chart-topping superstar with a dark secret, caught in a media and tabloid frenzy full of rumor, speculation, and lies. She's off her meds and grappling to find any semblance of herself that might still exist inside an identity forged over the past five years by an extremely successful record company's marketing department.

Each of these lives is a story and the stories collide with each other like silver balls bouncing off bumpers on a pinball machine.

But in the end, The Rose Garden Arena Incident is a tale about passion, about bravery, about redemption, about fixing those things in the world that are fixable and learning to live with the things that are not - a heartbreaking story of tragedy, despair, and loss that still somehow leaves you with a glimmer of faith, love, and hope.

©2016 Michael Hiebert (P)2016 Michael Hiebert

Leaves you wanting more!

This second installment takes us back 8 days and gives you some of the background leading up to the shooting at the concert. We get to know Marshall a little better as he is waiting for Reggie to arrive for his visit. I am intrigued with Marshall's story, he has had a hard time dealing with the death of his family and with Reggie's predicament, it will be interesting to see where things end up with Marshall. Karma continues with her crazy decisions, partying with Stephanie and Brenda. Karma's mother, Trinitiy and father Lou are brought in to the picture. More is learned about Dakota Shane(is there really a stalker or is Dakota on the verge of a breakdown?) and Alexis and her band, The Posey Dolls. There are so many storylines going on you definitely need to pay attention so as we see how they are all intertwined, we know who is who!

With Eric Bryan Moore's narration, you will get sucked into this world. Like a soap opera, you want to know what is going to happen next and this narrator will bring it all to you. With his vast array of character voices and incredible ability to bring the scenes to life, you will not want to wait for the next in the series.