Almost Graceland - Hardcover
Ray Johnston thought his life was disgustingly normal. At forty-two, he had lived in Memphis all his life. His ex-wife had saved him from paying alimony by marrying her divorce lawyer, he enjoyed his work at the lumberyard, and he had a girlfriend who, everyone had to admit, was a peach. He did suffer one recurring nuisance; from as far back as he could remember, strangers would come up to him asking, “Do you know you look a lot like Elvis?” One day a man at a bar notices the similarity. It turns out the man actually works for Elvis Presley, and soon Ray gets two unfriendly phone calls, supposedly from the King himself. Later comes a third, one that makes Ray dizzy. He has been invited to dinner at Graceland! In an hour! Why? Ray can’t believe it---even when the limousine arrives to take him to the famed residence.
What follows is a meeting of two men who have almost nothing in common except their looks, their age, and the city they were born and grew up in. One is a working man who is trying to deal with what life has given him. The other is the most well-known and worshipped singer who has ever lived.
Steve Carlson delivers an enchanting debut novel that explores the power of loss and redemption in a moving portrait of Elvis at the end of his life.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Steve Carlson has been a working actor and screenwriter for more than thirty years. In his varied career, he has been a series regular on General Hospital, The Young and the Restless, Showtime’s A New Day in Eden. He has also guest-starred in hundreds of hours of television and starred or costarred in ten feature films. He has written feature films, television episodes, and books on working in acting. Almost Graceland is his first novel. Steve lives with his wife, Mary Ann, in the wilds of South Oregon.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
Almost Graceland
1Friday, May 6, 1977RAY PACED THE TRAILER like an expectant father, more nervous than he could ever remember being. It was amazing to him how his perception of everything could change so quickly. Had it really only been an hour since the call came in? It seemed to only take a minute to shower away the grime and fatigue of the day. So what was he supposed to do now?As tired as he'd been a few hours ago, the thought of resting now was out of the question. There was no way. He hoped he was dressed all right, but it wasn't like he had a lot of options. These were his cleanest jeans and his best almost-new shirt. Ray decided it was probably just as well that this was last minute. Any more time and he really would have been a basket case. What would he have done, gone shopping? How did one prepare for something like this anyway?Suddenly, everything seemed inadequate. His trailer seemed smaller and dirtier than it had been yesterday, his life seemed like a joke (king of the underachievers), and he thought he looked like a hick. He was seriously questioning the wisdom of ever having started all this.A couple of short months earlier, Ray's life seemed like it was actually going to, finally, work out. It was about time. At age forty-two, Ray Johnston had had his share of work problems, marriage problems, divorce problems, parental problems, identity problems, and, most definitely, financial problems.But it seemed that perseverance may have paid off after all. Ray owned his own place, had had the same job for over a year, which he liked, and was anxiously anticipating the most important day of his life, promising a promotion and the end of his money shortages.Marriage and divorce problems were over, including alimony payments that ended when Ray's ex-wife married her divorce lawyer. Ray always thought that was a cute move.His dad had been dead for years and his mom was in a home, but since his dad hadn't really been much help to anyone ever and his mom couldn't remember her name anymore, Ray figured everyone was where they were supposed to be.It had all seemed so simple. My God, how much had happened.And then, now! It was really hard keeping all this in perspective. He really wished he had time to call Sheree. She had the ability to put a sane face on most anything. Even she'd have a tough time with this one, though, Ray thought. Actually going to Graceland, actually sitting down with Elvis, face-to-face, was beyond even her reasoning powers.This was not reality stuff. This was ... well, that was the problem. Ray had no idea what it was and there hadn't been enough time to figure it out.Besides, the car was already on its way to pick him up. He knew he'd be right in the middle of telling Sheree about it, and she'd be going crazy, when the car would show up and he'd have to hang up on her because he knew she'd never hang up otherwise.Ray smiled at the thought. He already looked forward to telling her about that night but, so far, there was nothing to tell except that it was about to happen. Everything else was yet to come. And how it was going to play out, no one knew.Ray had no idea what to expect from Elvis. The few times they'd talked had not necessarily been friendly. Quite the opposite. They'd ranged from wary distrust to outright rudeness. Then out of the blue, some woman (Elvis's social secretary or some such, Ray figured) called to say that Elvis would like him to come to dinner. He was even sending a car for him.What happened? Why the turnaround?The sight of headlights through the window slammed Ray back to reality. Whatever was going to happen was starting now.Ray looked a little closer and was surprised to see a long, white limousine pull up alongside his trailer. Talk about "out of place"! Ray's feelings of inadequacy came back again but not enough to rival the nervousness which overrode everything.Since it was a warm night, Ray didn't bring a jacket as he stepped outside. Ned, a fellow Ray had met a couple of weeks earlier, was driving."How're you doin'?" Ned asked, exiting the limo."A bit of a surprise," Ray said as he walked stiffly around to the passenger door and started to open it. Ned beat him there."Oh no," Ned said. "You get the full treatment.""Oh, c'mon," Ray said, getting embarrassed.Ned opened the door to the back. "Hey, enjoy it. You're goin' where few have ever been."Ray let that sink in a moment before taking a big breath and cautiously entering the plush, soft black leather of the Presley limousine.Ned had been in Rusty's a few weeks ago, a bar and lounge where Sheree worked, and had casually mentioned how much Ray looked like Elvis, which he'd heard his whole life, but to later find out that Ned actually worked for Elvis! Well, that was just one of the bizarre happenings that had led to this moment.They rode mostly in silence, Ray quite in awe of his surroundings. Needless to say, he'd never even seen a limousine up close, let alone ridden in one, especially Elvis's."Are there going to be a lot of people there?" Ray asked to break the silence as much as anything."Actually, no," Ned said. "That's how I can tell Elvis really wants to talk to you. He's practically always got a house full of people but he told everyone but me to take off. He doesn't meet too many people alone."Ray didn't know if that made him feel better or not but it suddenly didn't matter. Before them were the famous musical gates of Graceland. Living in Memphis, Ray'd seen them a hundred times before but had never dreamed of actually going inside, except maybe with a tour.Ned casually nodded to a guard as they drove through the gates and onto the property of Graceland. He parked the limo off to the side ofthe famous mansion, got out, and was back opening Ray's door before he could find the handle. Ray hesitantly climbed out."First time is through the front door," Ned said, leading Ray up the stairs, past the imposing pillars to the ornate façade."For me?" Ray was still having trouble grasping it all."'Specially for you," Ned said, opening the wrought-iron screen door. Ned reached for the main door, put his hand on the knob, paused, and looked over at Ray. "You ready for your life to change forever?"Ray looked at him a moment, took a big breath, and said, "Sure."Ned smiled and opened the door.
Saturday, March 26, 1977Only a month and a half earlier, life was a little simpler for Ray. At the moment, he was downright happy. It was a perfect evening for racing. As loud as the motorcycles were, the helmets mercifully cut the sound to a dull roar. Ray didn't mind it a bit. In fact, it seemed to provide the perfect background sound track for the battle that was currently transpiring.The South Memphis scrambles track was hosting its regular Saturday Night Special, giving the local riders an opportunity to try their stuff against one another. Ray was currently embroiled in a neck-and-neck duel with one of his least-favorite people, Guy Stubbs.Ray's 360 CC Bultaco ate this course up but, at the moment, it didn't seem to be bothering Guy's Yamaha much, either. Both men were about the same age but Ray was long and lean (except for a bit of a beer belly he vowed he was going to get rid of any day now), whereas Guy had always been much stockier.Guy didn't have any love lost for Ray, either. The two men were being extremely rough, bumping, cutting each other off, just generally getting in each other's face.Ray and Guy were out in front of three other riders when the last lap flag was waved. They both popped it up a notch. They were still close as duck feathers when Guy got a better position on a turn and took the lead.Every time Ray tried to get around him, Guy would swerve over in front of him, cutting him off. Ray started setting up a rhythm. He'd try to pass on the left side--blocked, tried on the right side--blocked, back to the left side--blocked.Ray then started to the right again, causing Guy to swerve over in front of him, but this time it was a setup. Ray didn't go right. As soon as Guy started to cut him off, Ray goosed it and flew by him on the left.Guy was furious. He tried everything he could to catch Ray but it was too late. Ray only had to keep in front of him for one more turn, which he did to win it.Guy drove up alongside Ray as they headed off the track toward their respective campsites."Piece of shit," Guy said in greeting."Love to stay and chat, Guy, but I've got to double-check my plans for Monday. Hope you're coming prepared to work.""Yeah. What kind of sucking up did you have to do for that?""Oh, you know, basic stuff; showing up on time, putting in a full day's work. Stuff you wouldn't really know much about."Guy gave Ray a gloved finger as he turned off to his camp. Ray laughed as he continued on to his own. Various motorcycle equipment was laid out around Ray's pickup, which made it look like a small war zone. A cooler was sitting prominently in the truck bed. Sheree watched as Ray rode up and stopped."You're crazy, you know that?" she said.Ray laughed as he went to the cooler and popped himself a beer. "Just good, clean fun. Hell, Guy and I have been competing for girls and jobs for years. Don't much care for each other.""No kidding."Further discussion was effectively cut off as another pickup, with a motorcycle in back, pulled up next to Ray's. A tall, skinny cowboy type named J.D. stepped out wearing racing leathers similar to Ray's."What heat was that?" J.D. asked."Three.""Good. I'm in the fifth. Runnin' late but I should have a minute ort...
1Friday, May 6, 1977RAY PACED THE TRAILER like an expectant father, more nervous than he could ever remember being. It was amazing to him how his perception of everything could change so quickly. Had it really only been an hour since the call came in? It seemed to only take a minute to shower away the grime and fatigue of the day. So what was he supposed to do now?As tired as he'd been a few hours ago, the thought of resting now was out of the question. There was no way. He hoped he was dressed all right, but it wasn't like he had a lot of options. These were his cleanest jeans and his best almost-new shirt. Ray decided it was probably just as well that this was last minute. Any more time and he really would have been a basket case. What would he have done, gone shopping? How did one prepare for something like this anyway?Suddenly, everything seemed inadequate. His trailer seemed smaller and dirtier than it had been yesterday, his life seemed like a joke (king of the underachievers), and he thought he looked like a hick. He was seriously questioning the wisdom of ever having started all this.A couple of short months earlier, Ray's life seemed like it was actually going to, finally, work out. It was about time. At age forty-two, Ray Johnston had had his share of work problems, marriage problems, divorce problems, parental problems, identity problems, and, most definitely, financial problems.But it seemed that perseverance may have paid off after all. Ray owned his own place, had had the same job for over a year, which he liked, and was anxiously anticipating the most important day of his life, promising a promotion and the end of his money shortages.Marriage and divorce problems were over, including alimony payments that ended when Ray's ex-wife married her divorce lawyer. Ray always thought that was a cute move.His dad had been dead for years and his mom was in a home, but since his dad hadn't really been much help to anyone ever and his mom couldn't remember her name anymore, Ray figured everyone was where they were supposed to be.It had all seemed so simple. My God, how much had happened.And then, now! It was really hard keeping all this in perspective. He really wished he had time to call Sheree. She had the ability to put a sane face on most anything. Even she'd have a tough time with this one, though, Ray thought. Actually going to Graceland, actually sitting down with Elvis, face-to-face, was beyond even her reasoning powers.This was not reality stuff. This was ... well, that was the problem. Ray had no idea what it was and there hadn't been enough time to figure it out.Besides, the car was already on its way to pick him up. He knew he'd be right in the middle of telling Sheree about it, and she'd be going crazy, when the car would show up and he'd have to hang up on her because he knew she'd never hang up otherwise.Ray smiled at the thought. He already looked forward to telling her about that night but, so far, there was nothing to tell except that it was about to happen. Everything else was yet to come. And how it was going to play out, no one knew.Ray had no idea what to expect from Elvis. The few times they'd talked had not necessarily been friendly. Quite the opposite. They'd ranged from wary distrust to outright rudeness. Then out of the blue, some woman (Elvis's social secretary or some such, Ray figured) called to say that Elvis would like him to come to dinner. He was even sending a car for him.What happened? Why the turnaround?The sight of headlights through the window slammed Ray back to reality. Whatever was going to happen was starting now.Ray looked a little closer and was surprised to see a long, white limousine pull up alongside his trailer. Talk about "out of place"! Ray's feelings of inadequacy came back again but not enough to rival the nervousness which overrode everything.Since it was a warm night, Ray didn't bring a jacket as he stepped outside. Ned, a fellow Ray had met a couple of weeks earlier, was driving."How're you doin'?" Ned asked, exiting the limo."A bit of a surprise," Ray said as he walked stiffly around to the passenger door and started to open it. Ned beat him there."Oh no," Ned said. "You get the full treatment.""Oh, c'mon," Ray said, getting embarrassed.Ned opened the door to the back. "Hey, enjoy it. You're goin' where few have ever been."Ray let that sink in a moment before taking a big breath and cautiously entering the plush, soft black leather of the Presley limousine.Ned had been in Rusty's a few weeks ago, a bar and lounge where Sheree worked, and had casually mentioned how much Ray looked like Elvis, which he'd heard his whole life, but to later find out that Ned actually worked for Elvis! Well, that was just one of the bizarre happenings that had led to this moment.They rode mostly in silence, Ray quite in awe of his surroundings. Needless to say, he'd never even seen a limousine up close, let alone ridden in one, especially Elvis's."Are there going to be a lot of people there?" Ray asked to break the silence as much as anything."Actually, no," Ned said. "That's how I can tell Elvis really wants to talk to you. He's practically always got a house full of people but he told everyone but me to take off. He doesn't meet too many people alone."Ray didn't know if that made him feel better or not but it suddenly didn't matter. Before them were the famous musical gates of Graceland. Living in Memphis, Ray'd seen them a hundred times before but had never dreamed of actually going inside, except maybe with a tour.Ned casually nodded to a guard as they drove through the gates and onto the property of Graceland. He parked the limo off to the side ofthe famous mansion, got out, and was back opening Ray's door before he could find the handle. Ray hesitantly climbed out."First time is through the front door," Ned said, leading Ray up the stairs, past the imposing pillars to the ornate façade."For me?" Ray was still having trouble grasping it all."'Specially for you," Ned said, opening the wrought-iron screen door. Ned reached for the main door, put his hand on the knob, paused, and looked over at Ray. "You ready for your life to change forever?"Ray looked at him a moment, took a big breath, and said, "Sure."Ned smiled and opened the door.
Saturday, March 26, 1977Only a month and a half earlier, life was a little simpler for Ray. At the moment, he was downright happy. It was a perfect evening for racing. As loud as the motorcycles were, the helmets mercifully cut the sound to a dull roar. Ray didn't mind it a bit. In fact, it seemed to provide the perfect background sound track for the battle that was currently transpiring.The South Memphis scrambles track was hosting its regular Saturday Night Special, giving the local riders an opportunity to try their stuff against one another. Ray was currently embroiled in a neck-and-neck duel with one of his least-favorite people, Guy Stubbs.Ray's 360 CC Bultaco ate this course up but, at the moment, it didn't seem to be bothering Guy's Yamaha much, either. Both men were about the same age but Ray was long and lean (except for a bit of a beer belly he vowed he was going to get rid of any day now), whereas Guy had always been much stockier.Guy didn't have any love lost for Ray, either. The two men were being extremely rough, bumping, cutting each other off, just generally getting in each other's face.Ray and Guy were out in front of three other riders when the last lap flag was waved. They both popped it up a notch. They were still close as duck feathers when Guy got a better position on a turn and took the lead.Every time Ray tried to get around him, Guy would swerve over in front of him, cutting him off. Ray started setting up a rhythm. He'd try to pass on the left side--blocked, tried on the right side--blocked, back to the left side--blocked.Ray then started to the right again, causing Guy to swerve over in front of him, but this time it was a setup. Ray didn't go right. As soon as Guy started to cut him off, Ray goosed it and flew by him on the left.Guy was furious. He tried everything he could to catch Ray but it was too late. Ray only had to keep in front of him for one more turn, which he did to win it.Guy drove up alongside Ray as they headed off the track toward their respective campsites."Piece of shit," Guy said in greeting."Love to stay and chat, Guy, but I've got to double-check my plans for Monday. Hope you're coming prepared to work.""Yeah. What kind of sucking up did you have to do for that?""Oh, you know, basic stuff; showing up on time, putting in a full day's work. Stuff you wouldn't really know much about."Guy gave Ray a gloved finger as he turned off to his camp. Ray laughed as he continued on to his own. Various motorcycle equipment was laid out around Ray's pickup, which made it look like a small war zone. A cooler was sitting prominently in the truck bed. Sheree watched as Ray rode up and stopped."You're crazy, you know that?" she said.Ray laughed as he went to the cooler and popped himself a beer. "Just good, clean fun. Hell, Guy and I have been competing for girls and jobs for years. Don't much care for each other.""No kidding."Further discussion was effectively cut off as another pickup, with a motorcycle in back, pulled up next to Ray's. A tall, skinny cowboy type named J.D. stepped out wearing racing leathers similar to Ray's."What heat was that?" J.D. asked."Three.""Good. I'm in the fifth. Runnin' late but I should have a minute ort...
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherThomas Dunne Books
- Publication date2007
- ISBN 10 0312373988
- ISBN 13 9780312373986
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages272
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 10.00
Shipping:
US$ 4.20
Within U.S.A.
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Almost Graceland
Published by
Thomas Dunne Books, USA
(2007)
ISBN 10: 0312373988
ISBN 13: 9780312373986
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. Almost Graceland. Seller Inventory # 011402
Buy New
US$ 10.00
Convert currency