Baptisms of Spider Webb

"Jefferson Springs was a place where everybody knew your name, and damn nigh everything else about you, much of which you had just as soon they not have known." The little town of less than 200 people is where cousins Ben and Lester came of age in the depression and war years of the 1930's and 40's. The church, the school, the gulf station, neighbors and their families helped shape their young lives. But what influence did others have? The evil and hypocritical Dr. Beauregard, the mysterious and scary Zelda, the lovely Nora, and especially the profane and vulgar bootlegger, Spider Webb, who enjoyed saying; "Why should I believe in God? He don't believe in me." The novel takes you with the two young men along their different paths through college, law school, seminary, military service and the early years of their careers. You will love some of the characters you meet. Others you may find despicable. But it is unlikely you will find any uninteresting. After more than 20 years, Ben, the lawyer, and Lester, the pastor, return. Ben in search of a key to unlock his depression, only to learn that his most haunting memories may be of events that never happened. Lester to baptize his friend Spider Webb, only to find that administering the Christian sacrament to the dying old man will not be easy. In the end it is the church that has the final say about the legacy of the twice baptized Spider Webb.

In a career spanning half a century, William E. (Dub) Graham has served as an Air Force Officer, clerk to a federal judge, trial lawyer, appellate court judge, corporate executive, and counsel with a large law firm. Now in his seventies, he enjoys playing with his five grandchildren, tennis, golf, snow skiing and dancing the salsa. His three adult children encourage his writing as a way to keep their dad out of the nightspots along Glenwood South in Raleigh where he lives with his English bulldog, Amos. Graham has undergraduate and law degrees (with honors) from UNC at Chapel Hill. This is his first novel.