Update from my little world...

Hi ALL,
 Just wanted to let you know what I'm up to lately, it's been awhile since my last post. I'm 76K or so into my novel and approaching the climax scenes and tying in all the subplots to it. Scene work is intensive when it's life and death action involving characters, both good and bad as the author tries to keep it from being a "dud" type conclusion and having NOT forgotten any of the aspects that readers will want to know "So, what happened to?"
And, not that I'm looking past my work here but I'm VERY mindful of the fact that I need a line-editor as the next step, then a good editor with exp. in thriller novels for structure and all the good stuff. Editing for writers is a major step, and for me a step that looks like Mount Everest at the moment. Why? Because it's expensive to get a good editor, both kinds and I'm a little short on cash right now. I know, also, that the majority of writers are too. This is one issue I hope to solve in the next few weeks.
I'm working on the tracks to a song I hope to release soon today. Several versions with different effects and vocal lines are needing to be distilled down to one track we can launch. I think you'll like this tune no matter wha type music you prefer because it's a universal dance tune with a theme and beat the whole world knows. In case you're wondering: Yes. I do have music biz exp. and have had a few tunes make it to country radio in the past. This song is not country but mainstream pop/dance and I believe the world will love it.
 Anyway, that's it for today, I hope to see you on Twitter or FB soon!

...you know where to find me....


LUVU

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had never heard of this author until yesterday(I need to get out more...) when I noticed the slick, cool cover on the book and was intrigued by the title and the story-line blip on the inside flap. I decided to take a chance on Marcus Sakey's book and today 60 or so pages in I couldn't be more thrilled. Like I said, just because I had never read anything by this author doesn't mean he isn't well known.

The opening of the book is a stellar translation through the character's senses, in third POV, (which reads like 1st POV and almost caused my writer brain to melt) wherein we feel his confusion and literal pain, into vivid images of a desolate, near freezing beach.....somewhere.

With no idea who he is or why he finds himself laying naked, near death, as icy waves wash over him, the discovery of an expensive sports car nearby is where his fight for life and remembrance will begin. As far fetched, on the surface, as this type scenario might sound Sakey pulls it off using both barrels. Skilled narration and description. Daniel Hayes, if that's who he really is, according to the paperwork in the BMW - is a little off the reservation. No wallet, only car type paperwork and a gun in the glove box, he slowly brings himself back to life, having crawled into the vehicle and turning on the heat.

From there the pace goes into hyper drive.

Bits and pieces float to the surface of "Daniel's" mind and soon he finds himself running from the police in a little Maine beach town. He decides to head back to LA not having any idea if he really is Daniel Hayes and why, if he is, he ended up on a beach in Maine dying of hypothermia.

I'm maybe 60 or so pages into this book and look forward to making time later today to read more of it. Sakey's literal, sometimes gritty and always direct "voice" is a refreshing blend of realism and good old fashioned thriller intrigue. His sentence word choices will impress you even if you're not a writer. If you ARE a writer, then keep a notepad handy you're in for a lesson.

If nothing else(and there's plenty...) Sakey's energy, with a polished grit all his own, is infused deeply in this story, and, no doubt all his work. He has a substantial back-list which I will proceed to work my way through but for now I'm going to enjoy a writer after my own heart.

More on my thoughts as I read through this cool book.


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I remember...

Here's the rewrite of this post. I was very upset from watching the 9/11 replays on TV before I wrote this and upon reviewing it this morning I realized it was a bit choppy. Hopefully, the new and improved version isn't and my thoughts translate better.
________________________________________________________________________________

     Sitting here today, sunday morning, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, as much as I wanted to write something in terms of an update on my novel's progress and blabber about my journey as I careen down the writers road, I just couldn't. At this moment they don't seem important.
Like you maybe, I remember exactly where I was and I also remember how, somewhere deep inside when I heard the first plane had struck the tower and saw the footage of what appeared to be a deliberate crash - I knew. When the second plane struck, by then, I was absolutely sure it was a terrorist attack. Other reports of at least two other planes, one hitting the Pentagon and the other, Flight 93, crashing in a field somewhere in Pennysylvania underscored my conviction and like everyone else I was wondering what would happen next. Sometime later in the day the phrase "Are you ready? okay, let's roll..." became a part of our memory because it seemed to characterize a spirit that runs deep within the hearts and souls of many Americans. Every day people took on the enemy and paid the ultimate price, perhaps saving thousands of lives in doing so.
We'll never know but I'm thinking it's probably a good guess Flight 93 was headed for a significant target. I believe the men and women on board Flight 93 knew that and sacrificed themselves to save others.
(Dear God, if I only had a fraction of that kind of character and courage.)
I can't imagine the horror of those on the planes and in the towers who knew or suspected that they might be talking to their loved ones for the last time.
Hearing some of the conversations replayed just absolutely tore my heart to shreds.
In NYC when many were running for their lives from the buildings engulfed in flames, others were running in. I recall fearing for their safety as they entered the buildings to help people get out.
Bodies of people jumping from the towers were hitting the roofs and porticos below with horrifyingly loud thuds and crashes. People on the ground were advised to stay inside so as not to be struck by them.
Of all the sights and sounds of that day, now ten years later, that is the one that still and will always haunt me the most.
I remember screaming at the TV for everyone to get out get out get out get out get out......
When the buildings collapsed I stood there in my living room, my mouth hanging open, knowing that as I watched thousands were being killed.
I heard and read in the following days, weeks, months and years since 9/11 of how we, as a nation, had lost our innocence that day, and, maybe in a sense we did but I also knew it wasn't the first time. I'm reminded of the film footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor too and I wonder what part of us was lost on that day. The day JFK was murdered. The day Martin Luther King was killed. When Vietnam vets returned to their country amid scorn and ridicule, in the 60's and 70's.
I think we lost our innocence a long long time ago.
Some days I'm not even sure we ever were, innocent.
Not to say that we're guilty but to say that we, as a nation and a people, have been down this road before for many of the same reasons and each time we have faced tragedy and loss together.
     We all, as a country, live and die by the same sword and if that sword is not the sword of truth and liberty then we are no better than our attackers. If we become complacent or smug about who we are, or, if we turn our eyes from the true condition of this world as we have clearly done in the past, then history is bound to repeat itself. If we forget.
Full body scans at the airports and phone and email screening will not stop it either. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, I'm saying it won't be enough. We know a lot more than we did pre 9/11, about a lot of things. We've become a nation looking over our shoulder, even here at home.
It's discouraging to think that evil runs amok on this earth with victims aplenty.

We've given many sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers in the cause to rescue and protect each other and this country.Our ideals are worth fighting for.
Ideals we, myself included, all believe in. They are also the reasons we were attacked.
I really don't think we ever forgot, I just think we didn't remember.
I remember....



....you know where to find me...


LUVU

Steven Gore's new release "Act of Deceit"

Act of Deceit: A Harlan Donnally Novel by Steven Gore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Steven Gore has very quickly, with just 2 books, established himself in the coveted marquee line-up of top male thriller authors. This, his third book, out Sept. 1st. is the first edition of a new series with a new character - Harlan Donnally.
I finished this advance copy of Act of Deceit by Steven Gore on saturday.
The remarkable aspect, which gives our hero Harlan Donnally such legitimate depth and believe-ability lies in Steven Gore's professional background as an investigator. The high end kind who can find out anything about anyone, anywhere in the world and make things happen with what he uncovers.
Fictional reality based in experiential reality, the very best kind.
There is no mistaking Gore's skill level, (he's published by Harper....), and the result is a very engaging, introspective character on a mission to keep a promise and make things right, in memory of the dying man he made that promise to. A man with a past he hopes to keep hidden.
Harlan Donnally is not easy to figure out, in fact we may never figure him out. He doesn't fit the mold of action hero, whatever that is these days, yet the qualities we might look for are there, in spades. Like many of us Harlan is a work in progress but sure of the origins of his expanding convictions.



Really good sub plotting, killer dialogue, transitions and narration that draws zero attention to itself, this novel introduces us to a different kind of guy. It's a high speed thrill ride through the seamy darkside of a very controversial issue with a single minded goal that requires some very hard choices by our man. Choices which may cost him his life. Yet he persists and pursues, finding himself up against formidable odds and bad guys in Mexico. The stakes are raised again and again and where most people would walk, no run, away he stays, stands and delivers. Harlan's way of handling things range from pure determination to raw brutality to ultra shrewd thinking. A masterful portrait and character sketch by Gore.
No assumptions, presumptions or cookie cutter anything in the dynamic.
Flaws? Sure. In spite of them his single mindedness to get the job done is what will keep this character in your mind and cause you to look forward to the next installment in the series.

As a reader you'll need to bring your A game, it'll be worth it, trust me.
As a writer - bring your note pad and an ice pack.

I think readers and writers alike will love the twists and turns and at the end you'll throw your head back, wipe the sweat from your brow and laugh.


.....you know where to find me......





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Iron House by John Hart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first book by John Hart, "Iron House" makes me feel like I wish I had read his other books too. And I will.

Iron House (I'm maybe 250 pages into the story) is the most amazing blend of literary eloquence in writing and graphic narration/description I've ever read. The reviews say "riveting" and other terms reserved for the bestsellers of our day, and believe me, they're all true.

I honestly didn't know what to expect as I picked up this novel but the reviews spoke well of it and I liked the title. I'm glad I did.

Third person POV, complex and love/hate characters, including our hero who fits no mold I can think of, intrigue, classic thriller plotting and killer pacing make this an awesome read for both writers and seasoned readers alike. For writers it's a virtual clinic in POV shifts and story arcing. Not to mention the clearly advanced style Hart has already attained after this his fourth novel release. Amazing.

Readers are in for an e-ticket ride and nothing short of a burning page turner. I usually have a book figured out by now, the who-did-it thing and all that, but not so with this book. VERY CLEVERLY WRITTEN.

I'm as serious as I can be.

Like I said, I'm a little better than halfway through the book and I'll wait till I'm done and complete this review with an overall picture of the story and my final thoughts.

If you find yourself looking at this review at a point where you're looking for a good book, well, look no further.

Iron House is your next read.

*More soon.



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