The newest 'whodunit' of the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales novels is available

 

Fran Morales, Turner Hahn working a case

There is a new book out, my fellow travelers of detective fiction, featuring homicide detectives Turner Hahn and Frank Morales. Two characters I dreamed up almost twenty years ago in a desire to write a different kind of police-procedural novel/series.

To the right, and at the top of the book column of my books, is the newest edition. The book is called A Murder Grimly. It basically is a complex web of extremely wealthy high rollers in the real estate empire who want to latch onto the biggest deal of the century. And an act or murder or two, or five in a row, does not register on their ethics-meter at all. So there are, for Turner and Frank, a snake pit filled with vipers to wade through in order to find the brains behind all the killings.

Eck. No big deal. For Turner and Frank, it's just another murder case to solve.

If you like a murder mystery that draws you in and keeps you glued to the book, this is the book you've been waiting for. If you're looking for unique, fully developed characters who you will instantly identify with and either enjoy being in their company, or emotionally veer off in the opposite direction, this is the book you have to have.

In fact, all five books in the series will keep you reading until the midnight oil fades out from the dawn's early light.

More coming down the pipe line

 If you're a writer, it just makes sense you're writing the next story. The next poem. The next movie script . . . or whatever your muse is insisting you create. And so it goes with me. I write novels. Novels which spin out into multi-volume series.

At last count, I'm working on five separate series.  Two historical mysteries, a police-procedural, a fantasy series, and a dark noir series. (Yes, you're right. What the hell is a guy at my age trying to write five damn series?!)

Today I'd like to focus on two of'em. I thought I'd share the opening paragraphs of each.

First up is the police-procedural series. Book Five is very close in being a reality. The book is entitled A Murder Grimly. Homicide detectives Turner Hahn and Frank Morales find themselves sinking into the quagmire of a mystery with lots of bodies falling all over the place.

Here's the opening  glimpse.

One

 

         

   The full moon hung low over the rippling waters of the Brown River. A big, yellow gumball of a moon. Clinging to the fabric of the night so close to the river, one could imagine reaching up and grabbing it with a gloved hand. Much like a sliding outfielder getting underneath a deep hit to center field.

A hard case crime series with a little verbal poetry thrown in to set it apart from everyone else. The second selection is from the third entry into dark noir. I have a hit man who is slowly turning himself into a private detective . . . of sorts.. Actually, the guy is an enigma. He's not necessarily a bad man. Nor, strangely, others consider him a good man. Again, the enigma thing. The third book in the series is called Diedrich Park.

Here's the opening of the novel.

One

 

She was a tall woman dressed in a knee length navy blue wool coat. On the right lapel of
the coat was a large silver brooch with four white pearls arranged in a diamond shape in the center of the jewelry. She wore tight fitting black leather gloves on her narrow but long hands. On her short cut brunette hair was a matching blue pillbox hat with some kind of black netting pulled down half way over her face.

He watched with interest as she stepped off the escalator’s last step and moved into the milling herd of the food court’s busiest feeding frenzy. It was nine minutes to one. On a drizzly wet and extremely chilly Saturday afternoon. 

This one is coming along nicely. But it's a little way down the road before it comes out. I hope you like it when it hits the book stores.

A couple of TV series to tickle your fancy.

 

The other day I stumbled onto two TV series I fell in love with immediately, Each series based off literary figures I'm fairly sure we are all familiar with---or should be familiar with by this time in our lives.

I'm sure you recognize the name Sherlock Holmes. A character that became a world-wide literary figure created by a British doctor, Sir Conan Doyle back in 1887. Holmes was famous for his keen observational talents and vast intellect. A poly-math, actually, who continues to fascinate readers from here to the Rigel star-system.

And if you remember Sherlock Holmes, you will also remember his arch-rival, James Moriarty. Just as brilliant. Just as in love with deductive reasoning as Holmes. But perhaps for more deadly.

In this series, we discover Sherlock Holmes as a 10-year old failed college student. Yes, you read that correctly. Failed. At the same time, you also discover that he and James Moriarty become close friends fascinated in solving diabolical crimes. The series is brilliantly written. You'll binge-watch it all the way through the moment it first comes to life on you TV screen.

The second TV series to emerge yourself in is  a modern-day rewrite of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. If you like good science-fiction, this is the puppy for you. The concept of submarines, goes back (at least in American History) to 1775, during the American Revolution. I'll let you (if you-re interested) in looking up the details. Just type in American Revolution--The Turtle and read all about it. A true submarine in American History, didn't come around until 1864 when the Confederates sank a Union warship.

I mention these submarines because, as we all know, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, centers

around a submarine called, The Nautilus. Wait until you see this version of that famous sub in the series. And while you're at it, take a close personal interest in it's captain, Captain Nemo

He's an entirely different character altogether.

I'm just into this series, and so far, I like what I've seen. I hope you do too.

Book-trailers (again)

 Okay, ask yourself this question: 

What ingredients are needed in order to make a great book-trailer? 

A good trailer is like brewing up your own brand of home-cooked chili. It takes more than tons of chili powder to make a great pot of chili. You need tomato paste. Tomato chunks diced and thrown in. Onions. Various vegetables.  In fact, to make a great chili almost becomes a work of art. There are a gazillion numbers of recipes on how to make a pot chili.

Choose the one that closely matches your taste buds.

Making a book-trailer is essentially the same thing.

A book-trailer essentially has three main ingredients. One, it needs great visuals to visually glue the potential reader to the subject at hand. Two (and probably the most important)  it needs a tight script which instantly captures the possible reader's imagination. Thirdly, the voice of the narrator  has to be spot-on perfect for the subject at hand. A comedian cracking jokes trying to describe a dark noir mystery probably isn't going to work for anyone.

So here we go. I'm sharing my latest book-trailer featuring a book of mine entitled Smitty's Calling Card. (look down the right column featuring my books. You'll find it.)

I'm interested in hearing your opinions.

 

The Chandler/Hammit Debate

Have you ever read something created by the writer, Raymond Chandler? You haven't? 

Oh my . . . 

In my opinion, Raymond Chandler is the inventor of the modern American pulp-fiction detective.  Oh sure, sure. Most pundits would say American pulp-fiction was actually created by a writer by the name of Dashiell Hammit. And indeed, I'll give credit where credit is due. Hammit  arrived on the scene just before the arrival of Chandler. Hammit wrote fast-paced, hard hitting mysteries with bodies dropping on every other page and gun-play that would satisfy any ham-fisted thug. He also filled his pages with dry, sarcastic wordplay that instantly separated his novels from everyone else who came before him.

Raymond Chandler

You can't help but find yourself compelled with Hammit's creations. It seems like everyone on the planet has heard the titles to two of his most famous books, i.e.; The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man.

Two novels which I re-read again and again because they're just that satisfying to do.

But look at it this way.

Comparing the two writers is like comparing the sufferings of a patient with a badly ruptured appendicitis. Do you want this poor fellow to walk into a butcher's shop to get the help he needs?

Or would you prefer seeing the patient walk into the waiting room of a world-class surgeon?

That's the difference between Hammit's style of word-play versus Chandler's. The ham-fisted, shoot first and ask no questions later kind of anti-hero. Versus the delicious word play artistry of a reluctant hero forced to step forward to help those who can't, or won't, help themselves.

I urge you to decide for yourself who was the better of the two. Go out and find a copy of Hammit's The Thin Man and read it. And then find a copy of Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. I'm betting you'll enjoy both. Which one will you enjoy the most?

(And while you're at it, let me know something. Did I misspell Dashiell Hammit's last name? Again?)

Dammit Sherlock, where do we go from here?

 I'm deep into the writing of the book--and I'm facing the biggest frickin' traffic intersection in my life.  I assume a writer, when they begin a project, begins with a relatively clear image on how the journey goes forward.

So for the next dozen or so pages, maybe even four or five chapters into the tome, the going is relatively fast. Sure, there are some bumps and bruises along the way. But that's to be expected.

I mean . . . come on. You're writing a damn novel.  It may not be rocket science. But to those who are not rocket scientists, it's pretty damn close.

But then . . . oh boy.

Somewhere deep in the novel (for me roughly around the 100 page mark) you realize you're trapped in the that nebulous aura of vagary called The Middle Book. That means you've created so many characters and launched them in so many different trajectories, you find yourself in a maze of possibilities you no longer can control. You become lost in an ocean of possibilities.

Some pundit (that is, some person who almost knows what they're talking about) once described writing a novel is much like playing a chess game. There's the Opening Game. Followed by The Middle Game. And naturally, The End Game bringing the conclusion to the epic battle.

In chess there is a point system that one can tally up points for each opposite chess piece you can remove from the board. Of course, in the opening of the game, the score starts out 0/0 until one or the other player takes a chess piece. And then the points begin to pile up as the game goes along.

But then an interesting phenomenon happens. There is an initial flurry of pieces being taken off the board by each player. The Middle Game arrives .And along with it, the curious realization comes along that, no matter what piece you take off the board from your opponent, the points awarded will be equal in worth. So which piece do you go after next?

The same is true in writing a novel. So many characters are in play. So many plot lines suddenly open up, you realize you can find yourself traveling down a path you never thought possible. But it becomes even more curious. That unexpected plot line, in turn, can come spiraling into a dead end, and off you go down a different path altogether.

So the question is, what do you do next?

Answer? 

Either stay on the new course you've taken and follow it to the bitter end. Or, and this is what I think happens for most novelists, you do nothing. You let the characters in the novel take over and just follow where they want to go.

In the end, if you don't like where you wound up with, you can always go back and tear out sections  and rewrite those sections which  which veered you veered off into never-neverland. 

On the other hand, deciding to go along with your characters as they chart out their own paths might create a better book. And ultimately, that's what you want isn't it?

Poetic Noir

 Hello . . . remember me? 

I'm the eccentric writer who likes to muse over his potentially eccentric writing. Not that it matters much; few people travel down this oddball lane of dubious verbiage as I do. But then, on the other hand, maybe there might be one or two of you who will  stumble along, eyes looking downward and glued into the pages of a novel, and runs into me.

Now wouldn't that be wonderful. Stranger things do happen in this world.

Today's helping of literary fancy is called Poetic Noir. My definition of this non-existent term would go like this: Turning the ordinary Noir novel into a vivid portrait of imagery and emotions much like an artist capturing the light and fascination of an intriguing personality on a piece of canvas.

Essentially, how do you design a salad bowl of random words into a coherent roadmap of sentences which fascinates a reader's entire interest into the world you've created for him? Ah, that's the conundrum. And no two writers, or fans of Noir (or any genre), will ever come to a common agreement.

But let me end this smear of provocative nonsense with an example of something I'm writing on currently.  Below is the first page of a short-story called 'Call Me Smitty.'  You can find the entire short-story in a collection of short-stories entitled, There Is No Johnny.

See if it tickles your fancy.

In the darkened solitude of the car, he watched her hurriedly walk across the semi-deserted street and step up onto the opposite curb. All the time moving underneath the curved expanse of a red umbrella. 

 Red. 

 Her favorite color. Red umbrella. Red shoes. A red dress. A red car. Red … Like the color of blood. 

 The rain was coming down hard. Pelting the sidewalks and street with droplets big enough to almost knock someone out. Like getting hit with a blackjack. Unexpected. Making everyone run and dance between raindrops, seeking some form of safety from the deluge. It drenched every living creature with a wet monotony that simply refused to let up. Made dogs growl and snap at their own masters. Made women think about killing their husbands. Made husbands think about their wives. Unpleasantly. Especially in this part of town. A rough neighborhood. Whorehouses. Pawnshops. Cheap saloons.

You'll need more sugar

Would you like to have your mind blown? Well,  it certainly will be when you go to Apple-+ TV and watch a series called Sugar. The show is a modern day version of a classic Crime Noir movie--except this is a limited run TV series. And, brothers and sisters, it is mesmerizing to watch!

Collin Farrell is the private investigator who specializes in finding missing person cases. You instantly bond to the character because you hear his thoughts and see his daily fights to remain 'normal' in an insane world. And you quickly realize the man is carrying secrets, lots of secrets, around with him.

Essentially the first season is all about finding the granddaughter of a very powerful movie mogul.She's young, with a long history of being messed up with drugs, sex, booze--as, we eventually find out, her entire family is seriously off the rails as well. But this intrepid investigator quickly gets into the investigation and starts showing an unusual need to find the girl as quickly as possible. An odd enigma we wonder about until the very end of the series where we find out the driving force behind his investigation.

Ah! But there is an even more revealing surprise waiting to be revealed!

At midpoint in the series run, a real surprise come to us. The series started out as a classic noir crime story. But then, another entirely different literary genre is thrown into the mixing pot--and it is a revelation that just takes the breath away from you! And it fits! This new inclusion of a different genre blends into the overall plot perfectly, making the overall plot even more captivating!

Nope.

I'm not going to reveal anything. Best you take in the series yourself and make the decision on if you like it or not.

But you will. I know you will,

To book trailer or not to book trailer?

 Seriously. 

My gut is telling me a well-written, visually captivating, musically mesmerizing book trailer will capture a wandering reader's attention far more quickly than just about any other form of advertising. And if you use the internet as the main (sometimes only) medium to spread the visual feast out to the masses, well 
Godfrey Goes to Glasgow! --- maybe the masses might discover a new and rising star in the genre you write!

So okay. I've been playing around a little bit with book trailers and using Facebook for the main carrier route for such devices. Facebook cuts a deal with authors and wannabe authors where for a certain price (which, so far, has not become too outrageous) you can pop in your book trailer as the main carrier and they'll spread it out over the Kingdom of Facebook for a week at a time.

That's a lot of curious eyeballs falling out of the internet ether to watch your visual baby. A lot of eyeballs. And it seems to be working.

I've created four book trailers already. The fourth trailer, a trailer for Death of a Young Lieutenant, in a span of three weeks, had over 20,000 clicks of interest. And about ten percent stuck around to view the entirety of the trailer.

While I cannot say sales have gone through the roof for the novel, I can say the book has been gathering a large viewing crowd, Amazon speaking.

So a fifth trailer has been cut. This time featuring the Smitty series. (there are two novels in this series so far. One is called Smitty's Calling Card. The other is Discreet Inquiries) We'll see what the raw numbers this trailer runs up to in a week's time. But I can tell you in a little over 24 hours, its already hit the 2,000 mark.

I thought I might share the trailer with you today.  And you can tell me what you think about it. Here goes;

The Perfect Series To Get Into

 So okay. I've been a bad boy. I should be blogging more and (out of habit) playing less on the computer. Actually, I should be writing more--but you know how that goes; if I get myself writing, the words come out of me like a river and I find I enjoy the physical action of writing. 

Its just getting started that's hard for me to do.

Anyway . . . to your right you will see the first compilation of a series I'm writing. The Turner Hahn/Frank Morales police-procedural series. This tome added to the pile has the first three full-length novels in it. There are actually four novels available in the series. But this compilation was in the works before I submitted the fourth.

Currently, you can get this one either in a Kindle addition, or in paperback. All told, it's a little over 700 words in length.

Of course, as you undoubtedly guessed by now, I'm going to blow my own horn here and tell you maybe you ought to consider getting this one. If you're a mystery fan looking for interesting characters who are living, breathing entities, that's what you will find in Turner and Frank. And in all the denizens the two come across in their day to day lives.

But more importantly, if you are a fan of this genre, what you are looking for the most in a series is one that gives you something more than just interesting characters. What you want is a real mystery to chew on. To dissect and match wits with the bad guys.You want bad guys who are really bad guys and crimes that are real puzzlers.

Tada!

This is the series for you. Trust me. I have (cough, cough) never told a lie! Well. . . maybe one or two. No more than 100. Believe me.

Officially Out And Available

 It's official now. The fourth book in the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales series is now available at least on Amazon. In paperback and for Kindle readers. But hopefully, a hardback edition and eventually an audio book version will be following.

As predicted, the cover used was changed somewhat from the one I suggested.  That was expected. I have to say I liked the way they enhanced the artwork. But it'd been nice if they would work on the visual aspect of the titles, etc. That too goes along with the overall visual aspect of selling a book. And to be honest, constantly using white lettering is somewhat of a letdown. (here's the cover artwork)

I really like how this one turned out. I like a novel that has mysteries within mysteries buried in the overall plot. This one fits the bill perfectly.

Basically, the main thread of the story revolves around the idea someone is trying to send Turner's girlfriend--a hotshot ace newspaper reporter by the name of Debra Patterson--over the deep end. Apparently Debra, in her college years, had been married. Madly in love with a strange figure who kept secrets to himself. He dies mysteriously in a fiery crash on a lonely highway.

But . . . Debra's going insane because she is receiving phone calls from . . . her dead husband. Desperate, she confesses Turner her past sins and pleads for him to help her find her husband.

From there on, the plot, as they say in the movies, thickens considerably. Someone else, other than Turner and Frank, is hunting for the supposed dead husband. But then . . . an unknown third party is hunting for the ones who originally murdered the husband!

As confusing as that sounds, it actually comes out okay. The deeper you dive into the novel, the deeper the mysteries circulate around you. Hopefully, circulate around to the point you can't possibly put the book down until you finish reading the last page.

I dunno, but I've been told that is the ultimate goal for any writer. Write something to completely engulf a reader's full attention. I'm hoping this one fits the bill.

Projects Coming Down the Pike this Year (I hope)

 I've been absent from this place for some time now. I offer no excuses. No explanations--other than to say I've been gone for a while working on other projects (other writing projects and, frankly, the day-to-day pressure-cooker of a seventy-plus year old trying to survive on a daily basis).

But I'm back and I thought I'd share some thoughts and images on a few of the projects I'm working on. First up, the fourth novel, a new one, in the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales police-procedural series. Here's the proposed cover I'm hoping to see.

The artwork, again, is by my friend and a talented artist, Javier Carmona. He hand I have worked on every cover for the Turner/Frank stories from the get-go. As to whether my publisher will actually use this design is up in the air.

The fourth installment is an experiment for me. The first three outings were written with the voice and hubris of Turner Hahn explaining the action, the confusion, and the irony off homicide cops more or less go through everyday. But in this one, I decided to go to a third-person limited voice.

I decided to go down this path because it allows me to introduce some new characters into the series and color in their personalities an hiccups without straining the credulity of using a first-person singular voice. 

As to the basic plot itself, it goes like this. It starts out when Turner and Frank discover the body of an honest-to-god cowboy lying face down in an intersection in a quiet residential section of town.  And then it goes on to someone trying to kill Turner's girlfriend in a rather diabolical way. 

Project number two is the reintroduction of my hit-man character, Smitty. It will be a re-issue of the original novel entitled Dark Retribution. If you are not familiar with this character, let's just say Smitty is unusual in his choices of who he will and will not hunt.

In this novel a cop asks, of all things odd, for Smitty's help. A serial killer is making his mark cutting through the city's night, taking out a cadre of rather highly successful Ladies of the Night in a very disturbing way. The next victim appears to be the woman who leads this cadre of independent ladies. And she happens to be the sister-in-law to the cop.

It's a novel of a hunter hunting the one who hunts the defenseless.

Its dark, extremely noir in taste. And the first of a series I want to continue with.

Again, I'm hoping the publisher will use the artwork provided. There's no guarantee the lettering will look like this (I'm guessing).

Which brings me to the last reintroduction I'm hoping my publisher will bring out this year. This one features my art-thief turned reluctant detective, Jake Reynolds.

Jake is an accomplished artist with an uncanny talent of copying another's masterpiece stroke-by-stroke with the paintbrush. So good are his reproductions for the first forty years of the 20th Century it was almost impossible to tell which masterpiece was the fake, and which was the real one.

But Jake has a fault he constantly has to overcome. On many of his heists, he runs into the form of a dead body littering the floor. Usually in the same room where he wants to exchange his fake for the real canvas. His flaw is that he, for some reason yet to be explained, he cannot abide with someone getting away with murder. He has to solve the crime and bring the murderer to justice.

Hard to do when you are, in fact, committing a felony yourself.

Add to his conundrum, Jake is working in the depths of World War One. So I'm blending in a little history along with a murder mystery.

Actually, this is book two of the series I'm hoping will come out sometime this year. Book One will come out eventually. When, is left to the whim of the gods.

All of the above have the next in the series being worked on. And thus, I've been busy.

The Roland Fantasy Series.

 

Well, as you can see in the book-list column to the right, the second book of the Roland of The High Crags series is out. After a long wait, it finally has seen the light of day. Now--what's interesting to me--is book one of the series has suddenly found an audience. After being out for a few months, suddenly the book has shot up into the rarefied air of Amazon ratings to where it could almost be considered being a fantasy hit.

What I am waiting to see is if there is a kind of tag-team match where the readers who liked the first book bleeds off into the second book and continues to follow the series along. As of yet, that hasn't happened.

Book One is called Evil Arises. 

Book Two is Treacherous Brethren.

(both can be found in the book-list to your right)

Quickly sketching a summation of both books goes like this. For over a millennia, two sentient species have been raging war against each other. One human--one dragon. Humanity came first and established suzerainty over the entire world. The humanoid-shaped Great Dragon came next. And with them came their dark dragon gods who promised they would one day rise up and destroy mankind. And this would be accomplished through the guidance and leadership of five mythical creatures called The Five Princesses,or sometimes referred to as The Five Sisters.

Four of the sisters have come and gone. The Fifth Sister is alive. But is now only a small child. Not until she reaches adulthood will she fulfill the gods ultimate role; that being the destruction of humanity itself. And as a child, she is quite vulnerable to the ravages of both man and dragon.

I am not going to say more about the story line--leaving that up to you to find out for yourself. But I do have a couple of comments left.

I am currently into writing the third book of the series, entitled Desperate Pawns.  And so, here is comment number one; 

Does the child live or die? 

As a child she is just a child. An innocent creature, albeit filled with unbelievable magic she really doesn't know how to control. But still only a child. She does not become evil until she reaches adulthood. Or maybe not. Her Fate is yet undecided.Those who are trying to save her believe neither in Fate, nor her twin-sister, Destiny. So do you take the chance and hope you can guide the child to adulthood and change dragon prophecy of her becoming evil? Or do you remove her from the scene now, and in doing so, remove dragon prophecy altogether.

My second comment is more a statement. I had planned to make this a 10-volume series. Ten books. But maybe not. It's taken almost six years (maybe more!) to get just two volumes in print. And although I believe ten story lines are there for the taking, I'm not too sure there is enough time to get them done.

I mean, come on! I'm a writer. I've got hundreds of characters, with their own stories, popping around in my head and demanding to be written. So, being human, the concept of Time is finite when it comes to living a life. So who do I pick and choose to free?

Yes, it is indeed an interesting conundrum. 

Don't Forget To Add Some Humor

As you may or may not know, I like to write mystery novels. Most of the time, these novels drift toward the dark side of genuine whodunits--the classical novels of the past which offered up deep puzzles to solve filled lots of red-herrings, false clues, multiple suspects, and dead bodies splayed out across the landscape like some madman's midnight garden of murder.

Okay. Dark and grim. But what about inserting a little humor into these nightmares? Not the aching belly-laughs of slapstick comedy. But maybe the kind of humor that might only make you smile suddenly and without warning. Or the kind of humor that offers up a chuckle or two as you tag along with a couple of characters who interact with each other in unpredictable ways. Humor designed to make either the protagonist or the antagonist more human. More interesting to the reader.

Below is the opening few paragraphs of another Turner Hahn/Frank Morales police-procedural novel (yes, I know; I talk about these two characters far to often. I actually DO write about other characters.) The novel will be called Two To Worry About. It'll be the fifth book in the series. And you'll instantly note I've broken one of the cardinal rules about writing. Never open a book fiction novel about the weather (this will lead into another discussion about The Rules of Writing Fiction at a later date).

Here's the opening. Two characters interacting with each other. See if it elicits a smile and stretches your
lips back just a little bit. And consider the thought about how the opening suggests how the entire novel is going to be like.

One

 

 

 

It was raining. And no, pilgrim—not just the polite, early summer rain most prefer to see. This was a hot summer’s rain. A late August thunderstorm with jagged flashes of billion-kilowatt lightning strokes and teeth-rattling claps of thunder. It was like watching the one-eyed Odin opening the flood gates in Valhalla and stepping back and laughing hysterically at what was about to come. It was a biblical deluge straight off the fingertips of a pissed-off Old Testament god.

It was raining. And it wasn’t going to let up until it was damn good and ready.

Standing on the top step of the apartment building, eyeing the rain and the growing Venice-like canals beginning to build in the streets, I was beginning to think maybe I should add a WWII Army amphibious duck to my collection of Muscle Cars from the 60’s through the 90’s. But the cautious opinion changed to a firm commitment when my partner-in-crime stepped up on the top step with me and shook off the rain like a wet husky shaking the water out of his furry coat.

“Just got the word, buddy. There’s a report out a house boat sank on the Patterson bypass near 123^rd street. Sixteen people and two monkeys had to be rescued by fire department rescue helicopters. The city’s Emergency Preparedness Office said no one should drive their cars unless they have diving gear in the car with them. You do have life-preservers and a couple of pairs of aqua-lungs in the Shelby GT's trunk, don’t you?”

I half turned and eyed Frank and grunted noncommittally.  

Frank thinks he’s a comedian. And most of the time he can be with his odd, twisted sense of humor. But hard to imagine a six-foot-four, three hundred pound red-headed genetic freak to be humorous. Scary as hell, oh yeah. But funny? His brand of humor—and even the man himself—are acquired tastes. You either like the guy. Or you don’t. I happen to like the guy. Most of the time.

But maybe not today.

The Demise of James Bond

 The latest James Bond movie, No Time To Die, has certainly jolted the Bond world to the core and sent avid fans spiraling off into dark chasms  of furious displeasure. Most critics, its seems, did not see the Bond they grew with and loved in this final flick featuring Daniel Craig. Instead, they saw a pastiche of something vaguely mimicking the the true Bond; the true Bond being the misogynist killer who uses women like a chef using a set of dirty crockery pots in his kitchen. An over-achiever who defied all hardships and always came out the victor. A killer who, in all honesty, trusted no one and had no true friends to call his own.

Ultimately, I think this is a sad state of affairs for a movie-buff to posses. In the fictional world a movie fan lives in, one has to ask the question; Do fictional creations live and breathe like we do? Or are they nothing more than ersatz replicas of what most of us wish we were.

Every movie goer faces the decision in one fashion or another. Maybe they don't realize they do--but they do. So let me be the contrarian here. I would like to disagree with the more popular opinion.

I actually liked No Time To Die. And I thought it was a proper and fitting end to a marvelous Daniel Craig run as James Bond.

In this last movie, we see a vulnerable James Bond. A more humane--and human--James Bond. We see a man filled with regrets. With the weight of past mistakes weighing him down mentally. With loves lost--in many respects to his bad decisions--adding to that emotional weight. We see a man who has seen friends, many of his friends, die in front of his eyes. We see, in the end, a man weighted down by his conscience and has become extremely weary carrying that load.

And, in the end, we see a man who realizes he will never acquire the one thing which gives him the fullest measure of satisfaction. The one thing which might hold back the emotional weight bearing down on him that might, just might, allow him to become alive again. 

He discovers he has a child of his own. A child born to a woman he once loved--and actually still loves--but rejected because of  what he truly is. 

Frankly, to me, this story was like a modernized version of a Greek tragedy. The hero of the story is not actually a true hero. In reality, he's a flawed soul condemned by the Fates because of that flaw he has always denied to himself. Until too late.

I can identify with this version of James Bond. A flawed man who knew it was time to accept his Fate. Accept his Fate and allow those he deeply loves to move on with their lives. Without him.

Near Immortality

 

Forty years ago. 

Forty years ago my novel, Banners of The Sa'yen came out as a mass-market paperback. It was supposed to be the first of a multi-volume series featuring a human forcibly marooned on a planet by some powerful entity. Having a strange name, the locals find him--or to be more precise, he finds the locals and saves them from a terrible death--and they look upon him--mistakenly--as the long-prophesied return of their god of war. And the adventure begins.

I was barely in my twenties. I had defied the odds as a writer and had my novel pulled out of the proverbial slush-pile all traditional publishers seems to have and was published. I was in heaven. I just knew the second book in the series would be immediately picked up. I was on my way to become the inevitably poor and infamous paperback writer.

It didn't happen. The publishers rejected the second book and told my that 'fantasy was slowly fading away' and they were looking to change their format. 

But crying over dreams past is not why I'm writing this little diatribe. It's the 'something else' of late which caught my attention about this book.

Forty years a few young teenagers bought the book--and fell in love with it. And, amazingly if you ask me, never forgot about it. One such teenager grew up, became an adult, eventually a parent, and had his young teenage child discover the book stored away in the attic of her home. And SHE enjoyed reading the book!

Recently at least three of these once young teenagers have contacted me indirectly through Amazon by leaving reviews. Yes, the book can be found on Amazon and a few other sites. And yes, you can even buy brand-new copies of the book (although its been out of print for at least 39 years or so.) How that's possible I don't know.

But this is the point I am trying to make. If you are a writer, and you become published, your words linger for generations in time and space. Someone will read your book. Maybe not too many 'someones' who will turn into a rich and famous author. But someone will.

And its possible your words may never be forgotten. More than that--your words may become the catalyst which changes that person's life. And no, I'm not exaggerating. Your words as a writer can give a sudden ray of Hope to those who never expected to experience in their lives. Or they can have the opposite effect. And sometimes, thankfully, these select few fans who have never forgot you, reach through the ether and vast wastelands of the internet and contact you. Returning, in full circle, that little ray of Hope you, so long ago, gave them.

And, of course, asking you to keep writing and continue to the series they so lovingly remember.

Will the Sa'yen series continue? Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not. But I do have ideas. Ideas of maybe kinda resurrecting the Sa'yen in a slightly different setting.

We'll see.

The perfect Anti-Hero

 Let's talk about the anti-hero. Those creations in fiction where the protagonist can't be easily branded as 'a hero'. Nor, for that matter, as 'a villain.' He . . . or she . . . (hmmm, interesting point; do we actually have a female character in literature who could be classified as the anti-heroine?) is someone who is not clothed all in white to represent the Good Person. Nor all in black to represent 'The Bad Guy.'

They are creatures who walk both in the light and the dark. The Good and the Bad. The Ying and the Yang. When you walk on both sides of the color spectrum you are clothed in layers of gray of various shades. Depending on which side of the spectrum you tend to dither in, your clothing can be either very light gray. Or a dark gray hovering on the precipice of sliding into the dark quagmire of being black.

The anti-hero as a character was a really big thing back in the 60's The Counter Culture, the Protest Societies, the anti-Vietnam War rallies--all contributed the the creation of a hero who was not just the do-gooder all the time. But one who didn't mind getting down and dirty when it became necessary. But since the 60's we've seen this slow and inexorable march back to a world where everything is either Light or Dark. Good or Bad--with nothing in the middle to confuse one's mind in the process.

But, if you are a fan of this oddity of a character, all is not lost. Perhaps the best fictional creation ever dreamed up by a set of writers can be found in the character by the name of Raymond Reddington. The main character on the television drama, The Blacklist. James Spader plays the Reddington, and quite frankly, his portrayal is mesmerizing. He lies, he cheats, he organizes, he manipulates people like an evil genius, he keeps secrets he refuses to divulge and sometimes he murders innocent people--but he also does good as well. Sometimes spuriously for no other reason than he wants to do something nice.

In short, he is the prefect representation of the anti-hero.

Reddinton is a very complex character and James Spader pulls this magical portrayal out of a hat magnificently. A simple description of Reddington is impossible. Eight seasons of The Blacklist have flown by with remarkable rapidity. The ninth season has just started on NBC. With some major changes in the supporting characters around him. The question is, has Reddington changed? Is he the same person of old?

We'll have to ride along to find out.

Do book-trailer videos work?

 That's the question. Do book-trailer videos work? How, and where, do you post these videos in order to spread the message out to the widest range of potential readers? How long should a video be? What sites are out there expressly designed to help authors who delve into this medium?

I haven't a fracking' clue.

To say I am taking baby-steps in exploring this venue would be mind-numbing understatement. But I'm looking into it.

So far, I've had three videos created for me. Two .30-second ones, and one a little over 1-minute in duration. All three, I think, came out pretty good looking. I'm going to share with you the longer of the three. It is your task (if you so choose to take the mission, Mr. Phelps)  to tell me if it feels long enough, or if it is too short. Should I stick with just music as a background flashing over text? Or should I find a narrator to read voice it appropriately?

Here goes. The ad;

If you want to see the .30-second ads, go to the right and click on the book face for Evil Arises, or the one for Murder Is Our Business. On the Amazon page, scroll down until you see the video and hit that.

The Art in a Bookcover's Art

 Let's talk about the art in a book cover's art. I . . . we . . . have talked about this before. But it's always good to cycle it around and delve into it a little more. Or maybe I should call it the science in the art of a book cover's art.

The question I am asking is simple. What exactly is it that art in a book cover is supposed to convey to the reader?

Now this is not as simple as it may sound. I can hear your guffaws and raspberries now aimed in my direction. Obviously, you said, for an answer to the question, something like this; "The art in a book cover is supposed to capture the attention of a potential reader."

Fair enough. On the surface of the issue, it is an adequate answer. Yes. Art on a book cover is supposed to attract the attention of a potential reader. But my contention is this . . . merely attracting a potential reader's interest is not enough. Nice artwork can be very attractive. It can rouse a modicum of interest in all of us. But was the art designed to compel the potential reader to stop and seriously consider looking deeper into the possibility of purchasing the book?

Look at the above black-and-white image of one of my characters. What two images attract your interest the most? The character above is a a hit-man named Smitty. I asked the Spanish artist, Javier Carmona, to create an image of a man with hypnotic eyes. Eyes that would make you-the-reader pause and seriously look at. And then I asked him to put splotches of blood, in livid color, splattered across his face.

The eyes and the blood made you stop and look. And they made your imagination catch fire as to who this person is and how dark will be the story found within.  Or . . . at least, that's what I am betting on.

Here's another example. I write another series about an art thief who steals masterpieces of art and replaces them with exact copies. An art thief who is serving in the Royal Flying Corps of World War One. Art history, military history, and an intriguing character. So how do I package that all together?

By doing this.

Scottish artist, Jay Stringer created this image for me of a RFC fighter flying in the cloudy, rain-filled skies of France fighting German fighter planes. I asked specifically for this kind of image, knowing how many, many, many readers out there are armchair military history buffs. I'm betting on the possibility the reader will first be attracted and drawn into a rip-roaring tale of military history. And discovering a secondary delight in finding a character who is an art-thief and accomplished adventurer.

Here's another example. Another series I write (yes, I know . . . perhaps too many series to write in such a short period of time. But what the hell. The plots and characters keep popping into my head. What else am I supposed to do?)

The main character is a retired Army Ranger coming back to the only place he ever called home. A home filled with mostly bad memories. But with a few good ones as well. A home situated in the heart of probably one of the emptiest places on earth--the wide open plains of the Texas Panhandle. Necessity compels him to go to work as a county deputy sheriff. Where the county's emptiness and loneliness is further enforced within his psyche

The emptiness of his home county, the stillness of the air--the loneliness of  his life--all have to be projected into the book cover's artwork. Creating the image to fulfill those requirements takes planning and imagination before the actually image is created. But if it is done correctly, the image alone my tip the scales and compel the potential reader in becoming an actual reader.

Like maybe this image by British artist Jon Stubbington created for me in this cover.

The conclusion to my theory.

The artwork must be exceptional. But the planning before the artwork is created must be well thought out and imagined first within the writer's mind/

Guns, Gams, Ghosts and Gangsters

 

The second book of short-stores featuring Turner Hahn and Frank Morales is now available. Another set of ten short-stories of murder, mayhem, and a touch of the supernatural. A montage of the murderous kind, if you will. With two homicide detectives who are, shall we say, unique in their own personalities.

Which, interestingly enough, creates a curious question. Do I write these stories because I am intrigued in the concept of weaving an intricate tale of dark noir? Or do I write these tales--and the novels featuring these two characters--because I am fascinated in the way the two play off each other?

Ya gotta realize a writer is just one part of the creation story in writing fiction. The writer has their set of do's and don'ts. But when characters, especially the main characters and the main villain are introduced, they bring their own set of do's and don'ts with them.

To be frank, lots of times when the characters act or speak, it's the character doing the action or the speaking--not the writer. Within the writer's mind, fully developed characters--all of them--are their own entities. They live and they breathe their own lives.

So it shouldn't surprise you to hear I've got lots of voices in my head speaking to me right now. And it's a fuckin mad house in here.

On a side-note; I don't know if you know much about Amazon sales. But books who gather significant amounts of reviews--good or bad it seems--are preferred items for sale. Makes sense, sure. But Amazon kicks in with a little extra help in advertising IF a book begins to gather a large number of reviews.

(Hint-Hint)  What I'm saying is this. Read the damn thing and write a review. All it costs is your time in writing and punching a button or two on its Amazon page to publish it. Be honest. I hope you really get a kick out of the stories. But if you find the stories suck big goobers--don't be afraid to say it!