Return of the Drama Prince

Return of the Drama Prince is the sequel to 2011's Nectar of the Lavender, fifteen years down the road. Rather than young, single, and gainfully employed, our main character is married with three children and now freelances, but in a most unexpected industrial pursuit. He has outgrown depression but has been unable to tackle in his mind sources of his inner social and professional conflict. He's outwardly relaxed and life should be fine, but he can't escape the Doldrums, and he fears he may run out of time before they envelop him.

This condition he masks through exaggerated courtesy and friendliness, the opposite of his no-holds-barred approach to mediocrity and misanthropism when younger. Rather than society thugs obliging a fire-with-fire plan of attack, the new battle is against the passive aggressive, those with "glupie" tendencies and enemies of civility and efficiency. If you choose to fight city hall, the fight may never end.

His decadence-era relationships are over, replaced by friendships with straighter-laced family men and white-collar workers of his bedroom community, including the bleeding heart conservative Lanford, public relations advisor to stars and bars, with occasional PR problems of his own. The in-laws visit, but this is opportunity rather than threat or worry. In confronting his demons, he revisits painful memories, and for ease of vanquishing, or so he thinks, he rolls them all into two. There is no lack of sensations uncovered during this journey, during which he comes into contact with a true American quilt.