by Don Aker
Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Debbie, who urged me to write a story about teen gambling. I’m often asked by beginning writers to identify the single element most important to an author’s success, and my answer is always the same: a great wife (or a great husband or a great partner). I began writing in 1988 and, throughout all the years that have followed, Debbie has been my first reader, my first editor, and my very own cheerleader. I could never have begun this journey without her. It is my wish for any would-be writer reading this now that you, too, will find a partner equally as supportive and as committed to your success.
“A father’s love crucifies.”
From Father and Son,
a film by Alexander Sokurov
Credits
Cover photo: Valentino Sani / Trevillion Images
Cover design: Lisa Bettencourt
Running on Empty
Copyright © 2012 by Don Aker
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © APRIL 2012 ISBN: 978-1-443-41440-1
Published by HarperTrophyCanada™, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
FIRST EDITION
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
HarperTrophyCanada™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Quotation from the film Father and Son by Alexander Sokurov used with permission.
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Aker, Don, 1955–
Running on empty / Don Aker.
ISBN 978-1-55468-754-1
I. Title.
PS8551.K46R85 2012 jC813’.54 C2012-900851-6
RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The author is grateful for financial support from the Province of Nova Scotia through the Grants to Individuals Program of the Department of Communities, Culture & Heritage.
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