"Debts Unsettled," is a saga of one man's adventures while ultimately finding his way back to his childhood faith. This is a series. No planned number in the series at this point, but the 2nd in the series, "Future Tense," was released June 9, 2021. It is primarily in the Mystery, Suspense, & Thriller categories, with time travel used as a vehicle, rather than a focal point. It currently has 33 reviews, with a 4.7 average rating.
The protagonist, Michael Mays, Intellectual Property Attorney, jumps around in the past attempting to solve his mother's murder which has gone unsolved for over 30 years. A serial killer wants him dead in the past and in the present.
The question below about similar books was very difficult for me. I don't know of any direct correlations.
The protagonist's-Michael Mays-relationship with his grandmother, and the development of friendships. And the process of solving his mother's murder.
An example of a review:
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2021
A fun book with interesting characters
Verified Purchase
"Loved the book by this new author! If you like time travel adventures, you will really enjoy this. I really liked the character development and the way it moved the plot along. It's nice to read a book that doesn't have some sort of social agenda, and doesn't rely on profanity and sexual innuendo to make it interesting. Loved it!"
At 1:50 P.M., Trevor called Michael on his desk intercom, “Mr. Mays, Mr. Cailen and his attorneys are here.”
“Thank you, Trevor. Show them to the conference room please.”
“They are there and seated.”
“Thanks.”
Ian looked at his bandmates, then back to Michael. “Attorneys?
“No surprise here guys, there’s a lot at stake. They’ll try intimidating us with their big city law firm.”
“You’re not intimidated, Michael?” Ian asked.
“Our case is strong. And, I worked for a big LA law firm for three years. We’re all the same. We only differ in degrees of ego.
Michael stood. “You guys ready?”
Ian looked at his two band mates. “Let’s do this.”
While holding the door to the conference room for the band members, Michael surveyed the room. His eyes landed on Cailen, who had his feet on the table.
Michael looked at Cailen’s attorneys. “Really? Mr. Cailen, please remove your feet from our mahogany conference table. Were you raised this way, or is this disrespectful behavior something you picked up from your rock star buddies?”
The female attorney touched his arm, Cailen looked at her, she nodded, and he removed his feet from the table, unclasped his hands from behind his head, and leaned forward.
As she turned back to Michael, he felt as though her eyes were penetrating his soul. Black-as-coal hair, vivid red lipstick and matching fingernails. Ivory skin framed her pale-blue eyes.
Spectacular
She was altogether reminiscent of classic movie actresses of the 1940s, and personified beauty, intelligence, confidence, and success. Michael sensed her competence was backed with substantial experience.
“I assume you’re, Kassidy Frank?” Michael said, to the only female in the tri-team of lawyers.
She looked at the men around the table. “Good guess. And you must be Michael.” Her smile exceeded the rest of her arsenal.
“Yes, I am. Ms. Frank—is Mr. Cailen’s behavior the tone you’re setting for this meeting—big-guy intimidation? If so, this meeting is over.”
“No, I apologize. Mr. Cailen meant no disrespect by that—”
Michael spread his arms shoulder width and interrupted her. “Again, really? Let’s move on, because we’re off to a bad start. Ms. Frank, go ahead.”
Michael sensed disappointment that her appearance hadn’t intimidated him. But his response didn’t throw her.
“I’ll get to the point, Michael.”
“Please do,” Michael said, as he opened his case file folder.
“Your clients—Hauler, I believe is the name of the band—and I assume the three of you are band members?” She gave them a quick look. Not waiting for a response or introduction. “Your suit claims Mr. Cailen plagiarized the song ‘Beaten Path,’ is that correct?”
“That is correct.” Michael responded.
She went on, “Our contention is that Hauler is claiming they wrote the song and have so stated from the stage. They have included ‘Beaten Path’ in their set list, and they have been playing the song without paying royalties to Mr. Cailen. Is that correct?”
“No, that is not correct, Ms. Frank.”
Kassidy tossed her pen on top of her note pad. “You deny that?”
“Yes, we deny it. Your inference is that they are ‘trying to claim they wrote the song, when in fact, they wrote the song. And we deny they should pay royalties to the person who stole their song.”
“And you—the band—hold to that position?” Kassidy said, while looking at the band members.
Michael leaned forward, placed his right elbow on the table, rested the side of his head on the fingertips of his right hand, while shaking his head. “That’s why we’re here. Why are you here?”
He leaned back while thrusting his right hand out and rotating his palm up. “You came all the way from LA to state your obvious position? Let’s pack up and meet in court. This meeting is going nowhere.”
“We came here to see if we could come to a reasonable agreement.”
“Great, because I’ve yet to see a sign of reasonableness.”
Kassidy leaned forward, picked up her pen and clutched it in her hand. “Mr. Cailen is a busy man. His tour schedule keeps him on the road. Taking time from that schedule—by canceling shows—will come at a high cost to him. We’re here to make a reasonable offer to avoid that disruption.”
Michael scanned the band members, then looked at Kassidy. “We’re listening.”
“In your suit, you’ve asked for 3.125 million dollars; that’s absurd.” Kassidy hesitated, expecting Michael to respond. Michael kept his hands folded, thumbs against his chin, while looking into her eyes.
Don’t let those eyes suck you in Michael.
“We are prepared to offer, today, a $250,000 settlement.”
Michael still didn’t respond to her. He turned to Truck. “Mr. Cailen.”
Cailen looked at Kassidy. She nodded, signaling it was okay to answer. “Yeah.”
“Mr. Cailen, you’ve never met the members of Hauler or seen them play?”
“What reason would I have to watch club bands play. I’m a busy man? I can’t find time to spend with my family, let alone hang out in clubs.”
“That’s not the question I asked you. So I’ll ask it again, have you ever met Hauler or watched them play live?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Michael leaned forward, keeping his hands folded. “Well, if that were true, we’d have no case and your offer of $250,000 would be more than generous. Right?”
“Too generous, if you ask me,” Cailen said. “I work hard, and I don’t want to pay a penny toward this frivolous lawsuit.”
Michael looked at Cailen’s attorney. “Ms. Frank, you’ve coached him well, even gave him big words to use. But, there’s a problem with your claim, Mr. Cailen,” Michael said, as he lifted the remote control and pushed play.
The entire table heard Ian discussing his sister. Everyone in the room turned toward the 65-inch monitor on the wall at the end of the room.
The video panned from Hauler to Cailen, who was at a table talking to a couple sitting with him.
Michael paused the video. “This is interesting, Ms. Frank. I had the audio of the conversation between Cailen and the couple enhanced. Let’s find out what the couple said to Mr. Cailen as the band was introducing the song, Beaten Path.”
Michael pushed play and the same scene played again, only this time with the audio enhanced. “Hey Truck, this is the song we mentioned earlier—people always love this song—I think... unintelligible voice… maybe they’d let you.”
Hauler began playing, Beaten Path.
Kassidy interrupted, “You’re only validating what we’re claiming, Mr. Mays—”
Michael held up his hand. “Hold on.”
The camera moved, drawing close to Cailen’s table.
Michael looked across the table. Cailen was watching himself hold up a digital recorder. He couldn’t conceal his shock. His attorneys fidgeted with their notebooks and glanced at one another as the monitor displayed the video panning around the club.
Michael looked over to Ian and gave a slight smile.
The video panned to Cailen watching Hauler on stage as they ended the song.
Cailen pushed a few buttons and put the recorder to his ear and smiled.
Michael paused the video.
Cailen’s other attorneys looked at Kassidy. She looked at Michael. “Give us a few minutes, please.”
“Let us know when you’re ready.” Michael stood and turned toward the door. Ian and his band mates followed him into his office and closed the door.
“Wow,” Ian said, “Did you see Cailen’s face?” Everyone agreed the video stunned him.
“Yes, he was,” Michal said, “as were his attorneys. He’s accustomed to getting his way. This is a new experience for him.”
Ian said, “What do you think will happen next?”
“I expect them to argue that the video proves their point.
Ian said, “Are you concerned, Michael?”
“No, they’ve realized they’re holding an empty bag.
“Let’s take a break, get coffee, use the restroom, and stay calm. Again, do not walk back into that room intimidated. We have the power; let’s play it well.”
After 15 minutes, Trevor paged Michael’s office, “They’re ready for you, Mr. Mays.”
“Thanks, Trevor.” He looked at the band members, “ready guys?”
“We’re ready if you are.”
“I am. Let’s go.”
Michael asked as he and Hauler members entered the room, “Okay, folks—what’s your decision?”
Kassidy looked at Cailen, then back at Michael. “Again, we believe the video you played, affirms our claim. Mr. Cailen was there gathering evidence to prove Hauler was claiming they wrote the song. So, to that extent, we are even considering withdrawing our settlement offer.”
“And,” Michael replied, “we are considering not accepting your offer and moving forward to letting a jury decide the outcome. Do you want to know why?”
Kassidy responded, as she looked at Cailen and her team, “Yes, we do.”
“Ms. Frank, after watching the first section of the video, you jumped in and said your team wanted a caucus, and we agreed to leave the room. But we were not done with our presentation.” In a condescending tone, Michael said, “Is it okay with you if we finish?”
Kassidy gave a side-glance to Cailen. “Sure… go ahead.”
Michael brought up on the monitor screen a Rolling Stone magazine article in which they interviewed Cailen. Michael read a yellow highlighted section. “Truck Cailen discussed how he likes to go out to local venues at night, after his band’s show finished.”
“Mr. Cailen, that doesn’t square with what you told us a few minutes ago,” Michael looked at Kassidy, “Does it, Ms. Frank?”
Truck looked up and glared.
Michael read the rest of that section of the article, emphasizing, ‘I keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in other parts of the music world.’
“But, Mr. Cailen, earlier in our meeting you said you don’t have the time to visit clubs or listen to other bands?” Kassidy looked at Cailen, now with a hint of disbelief.
Michael brought up a copy of an admission ticket to Jimi’s Daze concert at the Moda Center in Portland. He asked, “Please note the highlighted date on the ticket.”
He then brought up a copy of a flyer announcing Hauler playing at a local club. “Also please note the date of Hauler’s show—the same night as the Jimi’s Daze concert.
“Hauler’s venue was only minutes away from the Moda Center. So last, but not least—” a photo of Hauler’s promo-CD came up on the screen, “we will bring in the owner/engineer of the recording studio where Hauler recorded this promotional CD. I’ll ask him to give testimony as to the date he recorded this CD, which was well before Jimi’s Daze released it.” Michael paused, allowing that to sink in.
“I believe you noticed the label on the promo-CD lists, Beaten Path.
“Ms. Frank, our research brought an interesting discovery. Two years ago, Jimi’s Daze grossed over $75,000,000 touring to support their previous album. Not a bad annual income, even when divided between members.” Michael again hesitated for a moment.
“Now let’s move to Jimi’s Daze current tour, which promotes the release of their latest album. But more so, to capitalize on the success of the release of ‘Beaten Path,’ the first single from that album, which, as I stated before, became a world-wide hit.”
“So far, in their current tour, Jimi’s Daze has grossed over $125,000,000.” Again pausing, to allow that number to marinate.
“What do you suppose a jury will attribute to that incredible jump in gross concert ticket sales when I show them this?” Michael brought up a YouTube video of Cailen, standing near the front of the stage, thanking the crowd for liking the song.
Cailen described feedback from people around the world. He swept his arm out in front of him. “The song is touching people, like you. They’re sending us messages via our website, telling us how it has inspired them. How it has made them more aware of the abuse women face at the hands of boyfriends, husbands and others. Even inspiring them to support and work toward ending that pattern of abuse.” Michael paused the video.
“Noble cause, yes?” No one could, or dared, answer.
“Mr. Cailen, you made the song the central theme of your concert tour… right? Cailen avoided eye contact with Michael.
“And, Mr. Cailen, we’re not even considering your earnings from songwriter royalties.
“When we go into the courtroom, I will remind the jury of the settlement we’re requesting.” Michael scanned the eyes of Cailen and his team. Then I will compare that to the money Mr. Cailen is making from songwriter royalties associated with the song, and current tour revenue. A tour where ‘Beaten Path’ is the central theme. Mr. Cailen, isn’t the name of your band’s current tour, ‘The Beaten Path Tour’?
There was no response.
“Then, I will finish by telling them they can award to Hauler, punitive damages commensurate with the crime Mr. Cailen committed.”
Michael looked at Kassidy and her team. “So, here’s the question I have for the big-city attorneys. I believe you to be smart, experienced and knowledgeable. How much do you think a jury will award, Hauler?”
Again, no response.
“After seeing and hearing our testimony, you know the jury will award Hauler a significant, if not a phenomenal amount in punitive damages.”
Michael stood, pulled out his phone and touched the screen. “I’m setting my timer for ten minutes. We’ll step out and come back when the phone’s alarm sounds. We will consider your proposal. If it’s not far more than what we originally requested… we’ll see you in court.”
The phone’s alarm sounded. Michael and the members of Hauler walked back into the conference room. He removed two copies of a document from his folder and slid them over to Kassidy.
“Ms. Frank, during your first caucus, I asked my assistant Trevor to draw up a settlement agreement and attend this meeting to notarize it.
“The agreement stipulates we accept your offer of settlement. It includes a non-disclosure agreement and a withdrawal of our lawsuit.
“The agreement requires Mr. Cailen to cease claiming he wrote the song Beaten Path, and to remove it from his BMI Works Catalog, both as Songwriter/Composer and Publisher.
“Also, Mr. Cailen will pay in full within 30 days of the date we sign this document… which will be today. Failure on any point will negate our agreement. Please notice that Trevor left a space for you to write your offer. He made the space large. We will not be negotiating, so make your offer one that will motivate us to withdraw our suit.
“Today being Halloween, I suggest you choose treat rather than a trick.”
Kassidy looked at Cailen, then to her associates, then back to Michael, who didn’t flinch. She picked up her pen, wrote a number, signed and dated both copies. She slid them over to Cailen.
While looking at her in astonishment, Cailen slammed back in the chair. He made a threatening move against Kassidy. He turned toward her and spread his hands, as if aimed for her neck. Through clamped teeth, he hissed, “That’s over three times what we discussed minutes ago.”
She nodded and shrugged her shoulders. She handed him her pen. He hesitated, took a deep breath, leaned forward, signed and dated both copies. He flicked them back to Michael and tossed the pen on the table.
Michael considered the offer. “I believe we have a deal.” He signed and dated both copies, then handed them to Ian.
Wide-eyed, Ian looked at Michael. Michael nodded; Ian signed. Trevor notarized while Michael thanked everyone.
“Mr. Cailen, Ms. Frank, you’ve made a wise decision. Ms. Frank, Trevor will make copies of the document for your associates, and he’ll give you one of the original signed copies. Good day.”
Back in Michael’s office, still in shock, Ian sat stunned. The two band mates asked what happened and what they agreed to pay?
Ian took a deep breath. “Twenty… million… dollars.”
“Plus 25% legal fees,” Michael added.
As the three bandmates did a group-hug, Ian reached and pulled in Michael. “The money is both shocking and great,” Ian said, “but, we got our song back.”
Trevor came in with the band member’s copies of the agreement.
Ian looked at his copy and looked up at Michael. “Not in our wildest dreams did we expect this. Is this the norm?”
“No,” Michael said, “this case is so egregious, that Cailen’s attorney wanted the suit to go away.
“This isn’t a typical plagiarism case where someone sues because someone else used parts of their song. Our suit would have proved Cailen stole your song verbatim. We have a video proving it. It’s astounding that Cailen imagined he could get away with it.”
“Well,” Ian said, “thanks to you he didn’t. And we appreciate you believing in us and helping us through this.”
“To be candid,” Michael said, “he got away with the millions of dollars he’s making on this tour, which he wouldn’t have made if it weren’t for your song. But $20,000,000 in hand beats the risk of leaving it to a jury. Plus, you will get future royalties.
“As I came to know you guys, you were easy to trust; it was my pleasure. Thank you for entrusting me with your case.”