Keith Fraundorf of Bark River is the author of “The Oedipus Conspiracy.” The book is available as a Kindle e-book and in paperback. (Photo courtesy of Keith Fraundorf)

BARK RIVER — Keith Fraundorf’s book, “The Oedipus Conspiracy”, was written out of what he called a “desperate need” and a “sheer determination.”

The Bark River man recently published the book, which deals with a political setting.

In 1991, Fraundorf was store manager of the Antigo, Wisconsin, Spurgeon’s store, a promotion he accepted in August 1978.

“My compensation was based on the annual operating profit of the store,” Fraundorf said in an email. “By the mid 1980s we had turned the store around to such a degree that I was making $35,000 annually. Very well paid for the Antigo area. And we remained committed to both Antigo and to Spurgeon’s.”

However, his fortune turned when a Chicago investment company bought the chain.

“I had to do something, something to replace my salary,” Fraundorf said. “But this rural small town offered very little corporate work and less professional work for a retail store manager whose educational background were the dual majors of journalism, news/editorial Sequence and philosophy, and complementary dual minors of theology and psychology. “And as my wife and I chose previously not to move when times were good, (up the corporate ladder to the Chicago office), we certainly weren’t going to move as times were turning bad,” he said.

The options, he noted, were limited.

The answer, he thought, would be to write a political thriller.

“Not my usual genre (humorous/satirical essays were my preferred expressions, and a far cry from my first philosophical everyman morality manuscript written from 1972 to 1974),” Fraundorf said. “But political thrillers were the hot sellers back then. Had to go that route.”

He said he outlined a “good, subversive plot,” which centers on the president of the United States facing re-election. However, his current vice president will not remain on the upcoming ticket by the president’s choice. The VP learns of this clandestine plot against him, and directs his response to maintain the status quo.

“Being the former CIA director, he is well suited to do so. Whatever it takes to stay politically alive,” Fraundorf said.

The title developed from his Greek literature studies.

“The next in the generational line wants what the president has,” he said.

However, Fraundorf said he had to write fast. The manuscript was completed in the summer of 1991, and he spent months sending it to literary agents and publishing houses.

“Amazing how all of those various worded ‘No Thank Yous’ have stood the test of time in a tagboard shoe box, buried where, come the month of October, I would place my copy of ‘The Oedipus Conspiracy,'” he said.

After losing his job in October, Fraundorf soon began training for a new job.

The manuscript remained buried during stints that included working the blackjack tables at a nearby casino, 20-plus years working for the U.S. Postal Service and family commitments.

A change of circumstances

Then came COVID-19.

“If I didn’t find something to do, to occupy my time, to give my wife her alone time, away-time from me, I would surely die during the pandemic,” Fraundorf said. “Yes, death, even with COVID as an indirect cause, was still death. My wife, I feared, would be the instrument, and I just couldn’t live knowing that she ended our marriage with a butter knife, or on a freshly washed wooden stairway, or with a pillowcase inadvertently moved during the night. I wouldn’t have been able to live knowing that.”

So, he “did what any other writer would have done” — dug out the old manuscript.

“My oldest salvaged all the bits from the 5.25 floppies and the 3.5 disks, and it then was a hard six months of editing and editing and editing,” he said.

During this period, Fraundorf reread the manuscript 20 to 30 times, he said, getting the story tighter, staggering the suspense within other interludes and discarding nearly 10,000 words.

“Deeper insights into the characters’ state of mind, their psychological struggles, medical options explained in too great of detail, the poetic side of the protagonist — all needed and received cutting,” Fraundorf said.

He acknowledged it was a steep learning curve to bring the manuscript to life as a Kindle e-book and in paperback.

“But I needed to,” he said. “The story was just too good not to be read, to be enjoyed. And we did it.”

Will he write another book?

“The stage is set for a prequel,” Fraundorf said. “What happened to both Reagan and H.W. Bush, thus promoting Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill into the White House. But another political thriller has my better fancy at present. All I can divulge is that the storyline examines and involves a different branch of our government.

“Death is the choice method for removals, and it will be well played.”

For now, Fraundorf said he has committed himself to a collection of the humorous and satirical essays written now and over the past years, with background information preceding each so any unfamiliar reader knows the situation that caused the essay.

Then they “can more easily garnish a laugh or two during their read,” he said.

The other will be a compilation of poetic expression, Fraundorf said. “Observational, emotional, some strictly satirical but all from the heart of a writer who finds that touching the soul of another with the lyrics and images that words reflect is a welcomed respite for anyone,” he said.

“The Oedipus Conspiracy” is available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon, which includes this paragraph in the book’s write-up:

“Even in the purest of non-adulterated forms, the political game is always played for keeps, especially when the prize is the Oval Office. Too much power always subverts even the best of intentions. Too much forever corrupts the most honorable of motivations. Too much will always blur even the noblest of visions.”

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.