Joseph Wurtenbaugh

Thursday's Child Joseph Wurtenbaugh

"She's cute as a button and sweet as apple pie, but don't let her fool you. She's a stone cold killer zombie from outer space." Thursday's Child is a unique novel, a romance that blows romantic conventions sky-high - as much literary fiction as romance, The story is set in Manhattan at the end of the 1980's, amid the dynamic worlds of high finance, publishing houses, major law firms, and the burgeoning hiigh tech industry. The Thursday's Child who lies at its heart, Adele Jansen, has (in the words of the old rhyme about birthdays) far to go. Gifted, ambitious, and determined, she takes one step off the career track for an impromptu excursion with a man as fascinating as he is mysterious. But that one small step draws her gradually into an oddyssey. The core of the story is a heroic and intimate love story that provides all of the satisfactions of a typical romance. The materials of the narrative are contemporary, even commonplace. But the breadth of Adele's experiences, the intensity of her reflections upon them, and the scope of realistic detail in which the story is grounded, give the narrative a power and authority that is rare in any novel. Ultimately, her journey takes on epic, mythical undertones, the exact nature of which is not revealed until the final chapters. The result is a novel of genuine strength and authenticity, populated with vivid and unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.