Riding Sophia

Riding Sophia is the surprising debut novel by Bill Babcock, The crisp pace, artfully defined characters and richly textured world call to mind an experienced storyteller. We hope he continues to write about these characters.

Monroe Sanborne is drifting. He's an easy-going geek, hiding in his bedroom and home workshop, building science fair projects and reading everything he gets his hands on--including a growing stash of Playboy magazines. His best friend Lenny cons him into buying a disassembled motorcycle, knowing that Monroe will relentlessly rebuild the 1958 BSA 650. As Monroe says: "My family was growing comfortable with the notion of me fumbling with motorcycle parts before abandoning the project, but I knew this wasn’t Lenny’s plan. Lenny wanted a completed motorcycle. Ideally it would be his, but Lenny has an aversion to low-level employment. He was more like management. He came down to the basement to see how long it was going to take me to build my motorcycle for him."

The daunting project, in seven boxes and a bucket, is a key that unlocks a world Monroe dreamed vividly about. A world with an impossibly beautiful girl, a psychotic drug dealer, and an epic trip across the US.

Riding Sophia is more than just a motorcycle adventure, it's a story of how the world changed dramatically in the 1960's. It's a story about coming of age, crime, first love, first sex, first heartbreak, and the freedom of independent travel.