We’ve all fantasized about the best revenge for a guy or gal caught cheating on us: blowing off their heads with a shotgun.

While few of us, at least those of us not currently in prison, have followed through with this fantasy, Tucsonan Mark Sadler did.

Blood on church steps that are really rose petals/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

At least on paper. He turned the trauma and drama of his nasty divorce and his self-awakening that followed into his debut novel: Blood on His Hands (Infinity Press, 2009).

Sadler neither disclosed if his ex-wife had been cheating on him nor if he owned a shotgun, but he did answer one question quite ominously. When asked if he had a dog, he replied, “Not anymore.”

No, I honestly don’t think Sadler killed his dog, although he does admit, “I tried to murder myself but could not.”

“I went through a rather nasty divorce about seven years ago; one that makes you question whether you want to live or not,” Sadler said. “The stress was so great that one day I just packed it all in and disappeared; no one knew where I was. I was completely isolated. I reappeared a week or so later (hauling) a 60-pound pack on the Appalachian Trail.

“The journey that my protagonist takes is loosely based upon my own journey and I experienced an awakening of the spirit on the journey once I got on the Appalachian Trail. I wanted to write about my hiking experiences but so many people have written their personal journey on the Appalachian Trail that I wanted to take a unique angle so I dressed it up as a murder mystery.”

He picked a murder mystery over, say, a romance novel, as he enjoys the thriller aspect of the genre. He also enjoyed creating characters more colorful than the Scarlet, Peacock and Mustard we get in the game of Clue.

His main players are Oklahoma redneck Mike Renton, the dude that blows away his cheating wife; the wife Bonnie; and Bonnie’s lover, Ian Walker, a New Zealand private investigator.

Sadler explains in his press release:

Northern Georgia’s Appalachian Trail has long been rumored to have healing powers and in this tale of redemption and repentance Renton discovers for himself that more than just ‘trail magic’ exists on his journey of despair.

Blood on His Hands leads us from wanton desperation to the promise of a new life no matter the cost.

Not a bad start for a debut novel. Unless, of course, you happen to be the cheating wife.

I first met Sadler at Tucson’s Limelight Poetry Reading where I heard excerpts of the novel. Good stuff. I also heard him mention “his wife” so we know he’s remarried despite previous pain. We also know he’s working on his next book as he recently took a ride-along with a local sheriff’s department.

Mark Sadler/submitted photo

Catch Sadler reading from his novel July 11 and signing books Aug. 1:
Clues Unlimited, 3146 East Fort Lowell, at 2 p.m. on July 11
Mostly Books, 6208 E. Speedway Blvd, at 1 p.m. on Aug. 1
You can also join his fan club on Facebook.

One more thing we know: writing is a great way to purge relationship, or any other, pain.

My ex-boyfriend-turned-stalker experience ended up as a chapbook and CD entitled “How I Almost Married a Psychopath.” Another failed relationship turned into another series of poems, including a heartbreaking lament about how he moved out and took all the silverware.

Have you used writing, singing or another art form to get over a bad breakup?
What’s the best revenge you exacted on a cheating or otherwise crappy mate?