Out Clause

Out Clause: What if you could leave your life? Oxton Paris, the ultimate misfit, disfigured and ostracized, years ago left his and repurposed his angst into helping others escape their own entrapments, bad marriages, poor choices, compromising positions. He created Out Clause, providing thousands of Travelers a new life, a second chance, a smoother fit.  The compact, though, comes with caveats: one, a commitment to discontinue all contact with what’s been left behind, no texting, no coded messaging on social media, no burner phone calls, no keepsakes tucked in backpacks. And, two, a promise to live a better life, predicated on honesty and kindness, not only to others but to oneself. Could you do that, become the better angel you perhaps have always longed to be?  If Travelers fail in their mission, their bodies will be discovered where they went missing, near a bridge, on a Caribbean beach, stumbled over by hikers or exposed when a glacier recedes, a house torn down, a subway tunnel reactivated. There’s a vast network of spirit guides ensuring that Travelers reach their destinations. And stay true to the Out Clause ethic.  Enter a New York detective obsessed with suicides, especially those he calls No Bodies, and determined to find out where they’ve gone, setting up a human chess game with Oxton Paris and putting the entire sweet construct of Out Clause in jeopardy.

“The incomparable wordsmith Ernest Thompson’s latest book grabbed me from the get-go; engrossing characters and what a ride! It also teases with a titillating question: if you could … would you?”

—Jean Smart, Actor

“There is no middle ground in the world of Ernest Thompson. There is no halfway, no safety, no kiddie pool. His characters live on the fringes—spiritually, emotionally, psychologically—trying to navigate impossible decisions of love and life. Out Clause raises the question: what would you do if you had the choice to escape it all? And to no surprise, Thompson doesn’t deliver the answer for you, but allows you to wallow with his people in the indecision.”

—Michael Farris Smith,

Author of Lay Your Armor Down and Desperation Road

 “Ernest Thompson writes like a man remixing language into a hip and holy strut. He bends a sentence till it swings, pops, and lands as prophecy. The whole thing feels frighteningly alive and tuned to the frequency of people trying to outrun themselves.”

—Robert Galinsky,

Award-winning Writer/Director/Actor/Producer

“There aren’t words to describe the extraordinary life-changing experience of reading this incredible book. Out Clause is not one to put down and pick up. It’s unputdownable.”

                                                          —Ileen Maisel, Film Producer

“Ernest Thompson writes like a m***********, by which I mean m************ great. I love his colorful prose.”

—Raynold Gideon,

Academy Award-nominated Co-writer of Stand By Me