Autographed copy.

Passing Time by Ron Roy, 294 pages, Blue Cubicle Press.

Gene Wheeler has always wanted to be an engineer, but after failing math, he drops out of college and takes a job in his hometown paper mill.  He hopes this dead-end job will allow him to be a robot — to go through the motions as he considers his options for the future.  From his first day on the job, however, he finds himself caught between two groups of men, each devoted to the job in their own way and determined to include him in their ranks.  The job is not the smooth ride he envisioned and he soon realizes there are no time-outs in life.
The story takes place at a time when the company is in decline.  The question of making concessions to The Company or standing strong with the Union divides the men.  
Passing Time is a story about papermakers and the pride they take in their jobs, but it is for anyone who takes pride in the work they do.

The author:
Ron Roy grew up in Berlin, N.H., and has returned home after living in Iowa, Vermont and Dallas, Texas.  After a brief stint in the Cascade Mill, he has made his living in the health care industry.  He is presently employed at Androscoggin Valley Hospital as a sterile processing technician.  Passing Time is his first novel.