The Weight Of Loss (2013)
Distraught over the loss of his wife and two young children, a man holds lonely vigil at the scene of the accident that took their lives. Television news correspondents arrive at the wooded intersection to report the story and request help in solving the mystery of who carjacked the SUV that crashed into the sedan carrying his family. While watching the broadcast on the other side of the country, a young woman is forced to confront her denial of a grim family secret.
There can be a terrible price for keeping secrets. The time has come for this one to be paid.
$12.95 Amazon Paperback Edition
Review:
Told in a suspenseful and laser-sharp prose, Charles Van Eman’s The Weight of Loss is a gorgeously detailed domestic thriller. By turns terrifying and wickedly insightful as a chronicle of suburban malaise, Van Eman has shown a tour-de-force skill in creating and recreating conflict and in keeping his characters in trouble and in doubt. The Weight of Loss is a bitter and loving and damning tribute to the American family packed with keen observations and sympathy for human failure.
William Dow
The American University of Paris
On The Way To Pomona (2012)
Charles Van Eman’s high-spirited, raucously lyrical novel chronicles the adventures of Tom McInnes, a young man looking for a sign, a clue, a sideways glimpse of what he hopes may be his future. Profoundly disillusioned by his relationship with his family and what he sees happening in America, Tom heads off on a quest to make sense of his life.
The result is a funny and thoughtful novel of embattled faith, love, and the search for truth. Set in America, Peru, and Scotland, On the Way to Pomona plunges into mysterious, lonely corners of the human spirit, where the past draws blood, long-held family secrets are revealed, and a determined blue heron has the last laugh.
$12.95 Amazon Paperback Edition
$12.95 Jabberwocky Book Shop (local independent book store)
Review:
Wow, did I love On the Way to Pomona! It’s, How I Met Your Mother meets Carlos Casteneda! Anne Tyler meets Siddhartha! I love the picaresque quality of the narrative, the sense of humor, the terrific cast of characters, and Van Eman’s fine ear for dialogue.
Betsy Rapoport
Editor & Writer
High Rise (2009)
20 episode Internet and Comcast Video on Demand drama series —
Directer, Co-writer, Co-producer.
High Rise is an award winning "short" series with each episode being under 7 minutes.
Nominated for nine awards at the 2009 Indie Series Awards.
Winner – Best Business Model.
Audio Adaptations of Louis L’Amour stories & Novels
Bill Carey Rides West
Horse Heaven
Trigonometry Tenderfoot
His Brother’s Debt
A Gun For Kilkenny
War Party
Alkali Basin
Son of a Wanted Man (with Beau L'Amour)
JACK’S HAT (2014)
In Jack’s Hat, writer and performer, Charles Van Eman, portrays four distinct and individually drawn characters. Although each is separated in time and station, their lives are connected in surprising ways—through a hat—a hat with bullet holes and history. As their stories unfold, we see how each man tries to know, and do, the right thing. Through their successes and failures, we understand the threads of humanity that unite us in a common experience.
Review:
Jack’s Hat (the script) and Charlie’s performance were magnificent. What a wonderful achievement. I never tell anyone except my children/grandchildren that I’m proud of them because it can easily get misconstrued, but as a fellow writer that’s how I feel about Charlie. I don’t even know him, but I know the beauty of what he’s written, and I know how much work and experience and grit it takes to find the unity in something and keep refining it and refining it until it’s as close to flawless as you can manage–and that script is a model of that kind of persistence and wisdom and skill. I’ve been enlightened! So happy I got to see it! Happy and inspired!
Mike Kimbal
Novelist & Playwright
Watch the full length workshop production of Jack's Hat directed by Suzanne Bryan and produced by Marc Clopton here.
THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF MEAGHAN O’DELL (2012)
written with Anna Smulowitz
BEGINNERS MIND (1994)
Endicott Review (Spring 2010)
Baptized
Kerouac In The Corner
The Seventh Quarry (Winter/Spring 2018)
1963 Windshield Wipers
Kerouac In The Corner
The Seventh Quarry (Summer/Autumn 2018)
Interview with editor Peter Thabit Jones
The Keys
Racing The Track
It Feels Like You